Fairy Tail Means Family
by talkiermango502
Summary: Lucy is in hiding, fighting for survival. Making connections is dangerous, not only for her, but for anyone she knows. When she meets a young man who practically forces his friendship on her, she finds herself needing to protect not only herself, but the guild she has come to care so much about. Rated M for later chapters. Nalu.
1. Chapter 1

**Fairy Tail and all of its characters belong to Hiro Mashima.**

 **The title of this fic will change once I decide on one, so I apologize ahead of time for any confusion this causes.**

Crickets sang in the darkness of the night. The woods surrounding the city of Magnolia were whispering from the light breeze that danced amongst its leaves. In the darkness, a shadow moved. With muffled footsteps, a woman stepped forth from the woods, anxiously listening for approaching danger. A midnight blue cloak shrouded her in darkness, casting deep shadows over her face.

The young woman approached the gates to the city, quickly slipping inside without the notice of the guards. Her worn boots pattered a faint rhythm against the cobbled streets as she made her way toward the center of the city. Her eyes darted into every shadow and weariness was etched in every line of her body. Her heart thundered in her ears as she worried her bottom lip. After some searching, the woman stopped at the tall wooden doors of the Fairy Tail Guild Hall. She took a final look around before discreetly opening the heavy oak door and slipping inside.

Even at this late hour, laughter and cheer reverberated in every inch of the massive room at the Guild Hall. She ducked her head, casting her face in shadows as she made her way between shouting men and women, keeping her profile hidden from any wandering eyes. The people she passed were nearly oblivious to her in their merriment, spilling drinks and laughing amongst themselves.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail," a perky barmaid said as the woman approached. "May I get you anything?" Friendly blue eyes searched for the face hidden in the darkness beneath the hood.

"I am looking for the master of the guild," the woman answered. "I would like to meet with him in private if he is available." She kept her voice low.

"Certainly," the barmaid responded. "I will get him right away. May I ask your name?"

The woman hesitated. "Lucy," she finally replied. "He will know who I am."

The pretty barmaid smiled, introduced herself as Mirajane, and quickly turned on her heel and walked up the stairs at the side of the bar. Lucy's eyes surveyed the room with curiosity. Large oaken tables took up most of the available floor space. Towering wood beams supported a high, vaulted ceiling. A high oak bar formed a barrier between the guest seating and the kitchens. Scratches and stains adorned the bar top in front of Lucy.

The hall echoed with the laughter. Lucy watched in fascination as the men and women teased each other. Playful shoves were exchanged. Smiling faces were everywhere. Lucy huddled a little deeper into the folds of her cloak.

"Lucy."

She jumped at the sound of the voice, not having heard the barmaid approach.

"The master is available to see you in his study," Mirajane said. Lucy stood to follow the barmaid, her cloak still hiding her face.

At the top of the stairs, Mirajane lead Lucy down a hallway lined with doors. The sounds of the boisterous group below echoed up the staircase. At the end of the hall, the barmaid stopped, knocking on a door. A voice sounded, bidding them enter. The barmaid complied, allowing Lucy to enter before taking her leave, closing the door securely behind her.

A strange, small man sat behind a large desk. The man was immensely tiny, with white hair going every which way beneath an orange striped hat. A small, neatly trimmed moustache adorned his face. He looked Lucy over in surprise, taking in the state of her attire.

Lucy stepped forward, lowering her hood. Her hair was messily hidden in a cloth bandana, which she quickly removed, revealing dirty and tangled blonde hair. A cut marred her cheekbone, still slightly puffy and scabbed over. Lucy had rinsed her face in a nearby stream, but had been unable to do anything about the state of her clothes. Her skirts were shredded and coated in stains. Her cloak was mud splattered and torn. Dried blood adorned one shoulder where there was a gaping slash in the fabric. Her shoes had long-ago fallen apart and she had stolen a pair of worn boots, several sizes too large.

"Hello, sir," she said politely, offering her hand. "I'm Lucy. I believe you knew my mother, Layla Heartfilia."

"Please, my dear," the old man said, taking her hand. "Call me Makarov. Your mother was a trusted friend of mine. I was terribly saddened to hear of her loss." He gestured for Lucy to take a seat. "I must say you look remarkably like her." Makarov continued to look the girl over, seeing the striking resemblance between her and her late mother.

"Thank you, Makarov." Lucy replied, sitting with a sad frown marring her face. "Before my mother's death, she made me promise to come to you and seek your protection," she paused, staring down at her clasped hands. "The circumstances of my mother's death have not been made public."

"Layla had sent a letter a few months ago alerting me to the possibility of your arrival. She did not provide me with any details as to the situation, but I sensed that you both may be in danger." At Lucy's answering nod, Makarov continued. "I know this must be very painful for you, but I will need you to tell me what you can. I can only protect you if I am aware of what the danger is," he explained.

Lucy nodded before beginning her story, sparing no details. A few times, her voice broke and tears threatened to spill, but she willed herself to be strong. They spoke late into the night as Makarov devised a plan to protect the only daughter of his old friend. The clock tower chimed the two o'clock hour before the details had been settled.

Exhausted, Lucy's eyes drooped. She had been traveling endlessly for weeks in order to reach the safety of Magnolia where Makarov housed his Guild.

"Come, child," Makarov stood and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I'm going to put you up in a guest room until we can arrange a permanent apartment for you."

They stood as Makarov lead her down the hall to the available room.

"If you need anything, Mirajane at the bar can help you," he said. "I will give her orders to help get you settled tomorrow morning. Now, child, go in and rest. You've been through a terrible ordeal."

"Thank you, Makarov," Lucy said. She bent low and bestowed a kiss on the small man's forehead. "Thank you for everything."

With a warm smile, Makarov gently closed the door. Lucy quickly locked it behind him before moving further into the room. She approached the window, cautiously peeking at the cobbled streets below. Her gaze swept the darkened streets and alleyways below, then the rooftops above her vantage point. There was no obvious way for an intruder to climb in and no shadows signaled she was being followed. Lucy took a moment to gaze out of the window and into the dark heavens above. The stars twinkled merrily as if they were waving at her. A small ray of comfort struck her heard as she located her favorite constellations.

Finally allowing herself to relax, Lucy securely locked the window and firmly closed the blinds. Finding a bathrobe in the closet, Lucy quickly discarded her grimy traveling clothes and wrapped herself in the clean comfort of the bathrobe. From her discarded clothes, she pulled forth a small brown leather case. Blowing out the candle before curling up beneath the blankets, she sighed as she sank into the soft pillows. She hugged the small leather case to her body before placing it beneath her pillow. In the darkness of the night, she freely allowed her tears to fall. Her exhaustion finally overwhelming her, Lucy fell into a deep sleep.

 **Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Fairy Tail and all of its characters belong to Hiro Mashima.**

Lucy woke slowly, her brain muddled with sleep. She groaned and buried her face in her pillow, stretching languorously. _When was the last time I slept in a bed?_ Lucy pondered to herself, squeezing her eyes shut tightly.

A knock at the door broke into the jumbled recesses of her mind. Lucy quickly rolled out of bed and onto the floor, scrambling to dig a small dagger from her messily discarded clothes. Clambering to her feet, she approached the door and cautiously cracked it open, keeping the knife hidden in the folds of her robe.

Outside the door stood a smiling and cheerful Mirajane juggling a stack of clothes and plate full of steaming food.

"Good morning, Lucy!" She greeted. "Makarov asked me to bring you a change of clothes and I thought I'd bring you some breakfast."

Lucy felt a little guilty about having a knife at the ready when it was only the friendly and unsuspecting barmaid at her door.

"O-oh yes," Lucy stuttered, hoping Mirajane didn't notice her hesitation. "One moment." She turned away to hastily stuff the knife in the drawer of the bedside table. She returned and took the offered clothes, inviting Mirajane into the small guest room.

"Thank you for bringing this up," Lucy said to the kind barmaid.

"It wasn't a problem," Mirajane responded. "The Master asked me to show you around today and help get you settled. I'll leave this for you. Come find me at the bar when you're ready." She smiled while setting the tray of food on the bedside table before taking her leave.

Lucy securely locked the door behind Mirajane. The delicious smell of food lured her back to the bed as her stomach rumbled. She grabbed the platter, looking around the room for an appropriate place to eat the meal. Finding no better option than the bed, she clumsily clambered into its warm haven. Careful not to spill, she daintily cut and speared a bite sized piece of pancake and dunked it in syrup. Her face lit up at its sweet taste. Fueled by hunger, all decorum was forgotten as she continued to shovel forkfuls into her mouth. A small bit of syrup smudged on her lips as she ate and she greedily licked it away, desperate to collect every last drop of the sugary sweetness.

Lucy scraped the plate clean. Grinning, she glanced around the room before lifting the plate to her face and licking it clean. She frowned as she felt her nose and chin touch the sticky plate, smearing syrup on her face. Uncomfortable but unconcerned, she continued to lick the plate until it was entirely clean, regardless of the mess forming on her face. Then she used her hand to wipe the trail of syrup from her face. She licked her fingers delightedly, reveling in the messy sweetness of the syrup. Setting aside the plate, Lucy signed contentedly, her hunger sated and her stomach full to bursting from the rich food.

Lucy stood and stretched. Her stomach felt fuller than it had possibly ever in her life. Groaning, she rubbed her stomach as she ventured into the connecting bathroom to start a steaming bath. A frown slowly grew on her face as her thoughts began to churn along with the water pouring from the tap.

Stepping out from the robe, Lucy took a brief inventory of her injuries. Reaching up, she began to unwrap her makeshift bandage from her upper arm. She winced in pain. To stem the blood at the time of the injury, she had hastily torn a strip from her dirty petticoats and tied it tightly over the injury. The blood had congealed and the flesh had molded to the soiled bandage. Unable to pry it from the wound, Lucy stepped in the bath, hoping the hot water would help her remove it.

She luxuriated in the near-scalding water as it washed away the weeks of grime and caked on dirt and relieved the ache in her muscles. Her legs were splattered in mud and bruises. Tiny cuts covered most of her body from a particularly nasty battle with a bramble bush a few days ago.

Lucy groaned as she massaged sore muscles. Old injuries were scabbed over with crusted blood that was rinsed away. Lucy lowered herself enough for the water to soak her bandaged upper arm. She gingerly began to pick at the scabs and bandage. The hot water, though painful at first, had softened the wound and bandages enough they could be removed. Lucy inspected the deep cut that was etched into her upper arm, gingerly probing at pink flesh.


	3. Chapter 3

**I own nothing. Fairy Tail and its characters belong to Hiro Mashima.**

 _Lucy had been running for as long as her lungs would allow. Her desperate gasps for air were strained, wheezing. Her legs burned painfully and were difficult to lift. The stitch in her side was screaming for her to stop, her stomach roiling._

 _She continued to push her body past her limits in her desperation. Her flimsy shoes offered little protection against the sharp stones beneath her feet. Her cloak snagged on briars, slowing her progress. Brambles reached out to wrap around her legs, trying to keep her from escaping. She could feel the small thorns tearing against her skin. Tears stung her eyes, causing her breathing to strain even further._

 _Behind her she heard her pursuers growing steadily closer, shouting as they made their way through the forest. Dark magic swirled past her, narrowly missing its target and hitting a nearby tree instead. Fear drove her faster, but she was tiring. The adrenaline was draining her, no longer lending assistance._

 _Dark purple flames suddenly erupted around her, cutting off her route. Startled, she sprang to the left, reaching back to wrench her cloak away from the flames. Again, dark flames erupted in front of her, inescapable. She stopped her flight, whirling around and desperately searching for another way out. Like a cornered animal, her eyes wide and wild._

 _Lucy turned to face her attackers who had formed a half circle around her. The flames behind her completed the circle._

 _"Your father wants you back, Miss Heartfilia," a voice rang out. Turning, Lucy saw that it was coming from one of her father's hired henchmen. He stepped forward until he was standing close before her._

 _"Don't you have better things to do than chasing down young women, Horace?" she sneered at the man._

 _"Now, now, Miss Heartfilia, let's keep that attitude to a minimum," he leered at her. "I would hate for anything bad_ _to happen to you because you simply couldn't keep your mouth shut," he threatened._

 _"You always preferred the silent girls, didn't you?" she asked. She knew pushing his buttons was dangerous, but her desperation made her reckless. "You never could handle women who had opinions."_

 _He stepped forward and slapped her, the strength behind the slap nearly sending her reeling. Blood trickled down her busted lip._

 _"Be careful, Miss Heartfilia. I'm sure your father wouldn't be too upset if I cut your tongue out," he threatened, standing over her._

 _Lucy spit the blood out of her mouth, directed at the man who stood before her. Before he had time to react to her defiance, she pulled forth the keys hidden at her hip._

 _"Open, Gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus! Open, Gate of the Lion, Loke!" she exclaimed. Her other hand reached for the whip attached to her side. With a ferocity she hardly knew she was capable of, she flicked her wrist, snapping the whip viciously across her attacker's face as her two celestial spirits appeared beside her._

 _A second later, Taurus had thrown the man with his great strength, sending him flying into a tree. Loke, too, made his move, using his Regulus magic to attack the men who surrounded his master. The two celestial spirits fought for their mistress with all of their strength. They pushed their limits, knowing all too well the toll it was taking on Lucy to keep both of their gates open simultaneously. She was already exhausted and her magical energy was dangerously low. Surely she was close to losing consciousness._

 _With a power that Lucy was unaware was possible, Loke expelled his Regulus magic, taking down several of the wizards who surrounded Lucy. Taurus swung his axe, fighting the remainder of the attackers._

 _Unseen by Lucy or her spirits, Horace had made his way around the clearing and now approached Lucy from behind. In a swift move, he grasped her, holding her tightly against him. Lucy began to fight the hold, desperate._

 _"Lucy!" Loke shouted, rushing forward._

 _Horace pulled forth a dagger, placing it against Lucy's throat with enough force to draw a thin line of blood. Lucy froze in surprise at the sharp pain._

 _"Ah, ah, ah, back away, spirit," Horace warned Loke, an evil smirk on his lips. Taurus had finished off the last of the attackers and also stood, alert, desperate to rescue his mistress._

 _"Call back your dogs, Miss Heartfilia," Horace panted into Lucy's ear._

 _Concern and anger burned in Loke's eyes as he caught Lucy's brown eyes. He shook his head infinitesimally. If she sent her spirits back, she would be without a shield. Lucy reached down, with Horace's consent, to grasp her keys._

 _"Close, Gate of the Golden Bull and Gate of the Lion," Lucy said, almost inaudibly. She watched Loke with pleading eyes as he disappeared in a glowing light. She knew he would be furious at her for taking this risk._

 _As Horace's attention was on the rapidly disappearing spirits, Lucy's hand remained on the keys. Her fingers grasped the key of the maiden, Virgo. Silently, she sent instructions to her, hoping it could be relayed telepathically through her key._

 _"Open, Gate of the Maiden, Virgo," Lucy whispered, almost inaudibly. One moment there was just her and Horace in the clearing, the next second a hole was opening up below them. In desperation, Horace swiped wildly with his dagger, sweeping it deeply into Lucy's shoulder as he was blasted by a beam of golden Regulus magic. A moment later, Lucy landed in Loke's arms at the bottom of a hole dug by Virgo. The maid stood beside them and Horace lay in a crumpled heap at the bottom of the pit._

 _Her quick thinking had saved her. Through communicating with Virgo's key, she had asked the maiden to relay a message to Loke to open his own gate to attack Horace. Meanwhile, Virgo would dig a hole below Lucy, distracting the enemy and ensuring her escape._

 _Lucy whimpered in pain and her magic energy flickered._

 _"Princess!" Virgo stepped forward, reaching for Lucy, as her gate was forced closed by Lucy's receding magic, disappearing in stardust. Lucy fought to keep consciousness as dark spots appeared in her vision. The pain from her shoulder was overwhelming. Loke sprang upward, Lucy gripped tightly in his arms, as he lifted them out of the hole Virgo had dug for their escape._

 _"Princess," Loke spoke, gently setting his master on soft leaves on the forest floor, leaning her back against a tree._

 _"Th-thank you, Loke," Lucy whispered. Tears were pooling in her eyes from the pain. She tried to blink them away but they just spiked along her lashes._

 _"You don't have to thank me, love," Loke reassured her, gently unclasping her cloak and pulling it away from her body to reveal her injury. The amount of blood was astonishing. A trickle of blood made its way from the shallow cut along Lucy's throat. The blood from her shoulder ran thickly down her arm._

 _"My petticoats—rip off a layer to stop the blood," Lucy instructed, closing her eyes against the pain._

 _"My, this is the first time you've let me get under your skirts," Loke chuckled, trying to distract his master from her pain._

 _"Sh-shut up, Loke," she said, but a small smile lifted the corners of her mouth._

 _Loke quickly ripped off strips of Lucy's petticoats, using it to bind her shoulder and stop the bleeding. Lucy leaned against the tree, eyes closed. She almost seemed to close in on herself as she braced herself against the pain and exhaustion._

 _"Don't you ever do that again," Loke spoke seriously. Lucy blinked slowly, opening her eyes to look at her unhappy spirit. Loke reached up and chucked her on the chin with his knuckle as a gentle reprimand._

 _Lucy's lips twitched in a small smile._

 _"I can't promise you anything right now," she said, teeth gritted against the pain._

 _"Foolish girl," Loke rolled his eyes at her._

 _Finally finished, Loke stood, offering his hand to Lucy and pulling her gently to her feet. He carefully draped an arm around her waist on her un-injured side._

" _Come, love," Loke instructed. "Reinforcements will be on their way."_

 _They spent the next few hours walking through the forest, trying to get as far away as possible from where her pursuers had attacked her. Loke let Lucy rest against his side as she stumbled through the forest. He directed the way, leading them north toward Magnolia._

 _Loke finally found a place for Lucy to spend the night, deep in the woods and far removed from any of her hunters. He helped her to lay in the nook between the roots of a tree where many leaves coated the ground, making it fairly soft. He quickly checked her bandages, glad to see that the bleeding seemed to have stopped._

 _"I have to leave you and return to the spirit world," Loke said regretfully. Lucy nodded, knowing the toll this must have taken on him. "Get some rest, Lucy," Loke said gently, brushing the hair from her face._

 _"Thank you, Loke," Lucy murmured, blinking lazily up at him. "Can you thank Virgo for me?"_

 _"Of course, Princess," Loke smiled. "I'm sure she's worried about you. Call on me any time." With a last smile, he closed his gate, leaving Lucy alone in the dark of night. A few months ago she would have been terrified to be alone in the darkness, surrounded by the unknown. Now, she was merely lonely as Loke's light faded. She stared upward through the canopy of leaves and drew out the constellations in her mind as she drifted to sleep._

 **Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Fairy Tail and its characters belong to Hiro Mashima.**

Lucy stayed in the water until it grew cool. Finally stepping out of the bath, she watched in disgust as the dirty water drained from the tub, washing away the last few strenuous weeks of her life. Lucy quickly dressed in the clothes Mirajane had left for her.

She felt exposed in this new garb. No corset bound her waist and her breathing was left unrestricted. A loosely flowing peasant blouse was tucked into trousers. Lucy ripped a wide strip of fabric from her old petticoat. She tied her hair back with an old ribbon before carefully tying the strip of fabric around her head to conceal her hair. She tucked loose strands of hair beneath the wrap.

She dug her leather case from beneath the pillow where she had hidden it last night. She tucked the leather case within the waistband of her trousers, using the leather ties to secure it.

Lucy ripped another strip of fabric from her old petticoat and tied it around her waist. She pulled the dagger from the night stand and carefully tucked it into the makeshift belt on her side. It would be easy to grab but safely hidden from curious eyes. Lastly she donned her old cloak.

Lucy wrinkled her nose as she looked down at the cloak. It was mud splattered and torn. Dried blood covered the gash in the shoulder. Shrugging with no other option, she pulled her hood up to conceal her features.

Lucy quietly opened the door, thoroughly inspecting the hallway before exiting. She kept one hand inside her cloak, fingering the dagger. Lucy encountered no one during her descent to the common room.

Due to the danger surrounding her name, it had been decided with Makarov last night that she would go under the alias Lucy Ashley. Any association with Lucy meant a certain death sentence. No one knew better than Lucy the seriousness of the threat that was hunting her.

Lucy entered the common room and made her way to the bar where Mirajane was busy taking orders. Lucy approached the bar and perched on a tall stool near the corner, her eyes darted between the faces of the bar patrons, careful to keep her face hidden as best she could. Spying Lucy, Mirajane waved merrily, drawing a few curious glances from the group she was serving. Mirajane made her way to Lucy, letting her know it would be a few minutes before she would be relieved from her duties at the bar.

Lucy watched Mirajane work while monitoring her surroundings. The pretty barmaid greeted each patron with a bright smile, her silver hair twinkling in the bar's warm lighting. Lucy watched in amusement as the patrons interacted with Mirajane. They were friendly, that's for sure. They laughed gaily, passing drinks around their tables. Two middle aged men flirted shamelessly with the silver-haired barmaid. She giggled at them and graciously accepted their comments before moving on.

Mirajane was soon relieved from her job as another barmaid appeared. She made her way over to Lucy's perch.

"Thanks for waiting," Mirajane said. It seemed her kind smile was always present. "I apologize for it taking so long. Kinana was running late for her shift this morning."

"No need to apologize," Lucy smiled politely.

"Well, if you're ready, I'd like to show you around Fairy Tail and get you settled in your new apartment. Makarov asked me to bring you by his office at the end of the tour. I hope you don't mind," she said hesitantly.

"Thank you, Mirajane. I don't mind," Lucy replied.

"Great!" Mirajane said. "And please, call me Mira. Everyone else does." A bright grin lit her face. "Come, Lucy. I'll give you a tour of Fairy Tail," she said excitedly.

The two stood and began to make their way across the Guild Hall.

"Fairy Tail was established several generations ago by the first Guild Master, Mavis Vermillion. It has been passed down and is now in the hands of Master Makarov. Many of the Guild members live in the Guild's apartments, but others live separately. This," Mirajane gestured to a large corkboard hanging on the wall of the common room, "is the request board. People and businesses send job requests to the local guilds, offering money in exchange for services. Any guild member is welcome to take a job from this board so long as they receive approval from the Master. I can also grant approval in the Master's stead. Many of the guild members have formed teams to help them tackle the larger jobs, but it is not required. Many go on solo missions as well."

Lucy glanced at the board, reading a few of the requests. They were greatly varied, from helping retrieve lost or stolen items to catching bandits who are terrorizing a local town to helping repair a broken oven. It seemed no request was too small or too large for the guild members to take on.

"Master informed me he would be arranging for you to live here at the Guild Hall for as long as need. You would be welcome to stay here permanently or move into your own place once you're settled," Mira said warmly.

Lucy nodded. A troubled frown marred her features. She could not see that far into her future and it was dangerous to hope for a future here. Worriedly, she pulled her hood higher.

Mirajane continued, gesturing around the room. "This is the common room where many guild members spend their free time between jobs. The second floor houses the Master's office and guest rooms, which you already know. The third floor is for S-Class members only and is off limits to all other guild members and guests."

"S-Class?" Lucy questioned. "Are there classes for members?"

"There is only one upper-class of sorts," Mira explained. "S-Class guild members are those who have proven themselves by passing the S-Class exams. They often take S-Class missions, which are often dangerous and require a higher skill level to accomplish."

Lucy nodded in understanding. They continued the tour as Mira gave Lucy some of the history of Fairy Tail, pointing out various items of interest along the way. Mira lead the way to the second floor to a hallway that lead away from the common room. After several twists and turns, Mira stopped at a plain brown door.

"This is your new apartment," Mira spoke as she pulled forth a ring of keys and unlocked the door. "Makarov asked me to outfit it to your needs." Pushing open the door, she revealed a small suite. It was nothing fancy. A small kitchen area opened up to a living area and bedroom combination. The bed was outfitted with plain bedding. The bed was situated next to a window from which poured bright morning sunshine.

"I was able to find some spare clothes for you as well," Mira continued. "They're in the dresser. If you are in need of new boots we can go into town later."

"It's more than I'd ever hoped for," Lucy murmured. "Thank you."

Mira barely caught the words. Lucy turned away as she blinked her watery eyes. Lucy was touched by the generosity Makarov had shown her. Although the apartment was not fancy, it was better than anything Lucy had dared dream. She had been living in the woods for weeks now, sleeping on decaying leaves or propped against a tree. With a deep breath, she collected herself and resumed her detached expression before turning back to Mirajane. Mira suspected more than saw the emotion from the woman and felt a tightening in her chest. Many of the young people who ended up on Makarov's doorstep came from troubled pasts. She suspected this woman was no different. She could recognize a mask when she saw one. It was no different than the one she once wore.

"This suite is women only," Mira continued gently. "I can introduce you to your neighbors when they come by the bar for dinner. Oh, and you can move your possessions out of the guest room later this afternoon," she said as she unhooked a key from the key ring. "This is your key. Be careful not to lose it," she winked.

Lucy's lips twitched with the ghost of a smile. She quickly took the proffered key, tucking it securely into the pocket of her trousers. She already treasured the key and the room it came with. She adjusted the bandana around her forehead, pushing back stray hairs that were trying desperately to escape and pulled her hood higher.

The two left the apartment as Mira lead them back through the winding corridors. Lucy hoped she could remember the route to her apartment. The Guild was indeed massive. She wondered how many members she would be living amongst.

The duo made their way back to the common room before exiting through a door near the back of the Guild. The door opened up to a wide courtyard that was bustling with activity. A small fountain was placed in the center. A woman sat upon its edge, reading a book with two young men. Around the fountain was what appeared to be a training area. To one side stood a room with large sliding barn doors that revealed walls lined with countless weapons. Lucy stared with wide eyes as she took it all in. Men and women were hard at work practicing against straw dummies or sparring against each other.

"This is the training yard," Mira explained. "Any guild member is welcome to use it. We only ask that you clean up after yourself and try not to destroy anything," she chuckled. She used her hands to point as she continued. "That is the armory. The archery range is off to the left." And so she continued as they walked, gesturing as she spoke.

Completing the tour of the courtyard and training area, Mira lead Lucy back into the guild and lead her up the stairs to Makarov's office. Upon knocking, they were admitted. After greeting his guests, Makarov addressed Mira.

"Mira, please find Erza and ask her to come to my office."

"Yes, Master," Mirajane acquiesced. She took her leave, closing the door in her wake. Lucy lowered her hood. Her hair remained bound and hidden in the makeshift bandana.

"I hope you are finding Fairy Tail to your liking, Lucy," Makarov began, a kindly smile on his face. Lucy took a seat before him.

"You've been far too kind, sir," Lucy said. She frowned at her clasped hands before looking up at him with earnest eyes. "I don't know how I will ever pay you back for all you have done for me."

"Lucy, there is no need for repayment," Makarov said in a firm voice. "Your mother was like a daughter to me." His voice warmed and he smiled. "I hope to get to know my dear friend's only daughter. I hope you can make Fairy Tail your home for as long as you want."

"That may not be in the cards for me," Lucy said regretfully, shaking her head.

"Lucy, Fairy Tail is strong," Makarov said. "Fairy Tail sees all its members as nakama. Let us protect you," he implored.

"Makarov, it would be unfair of me to endanger more lives," Lucy denied. "I should never have come here, but," she paused. "I had nowhere else to go," her voice trembled slightly.

"You must be free to make your own decisions," Makarov leaned forward as he spoke. His eyes were beseeching. "But I hope you remember that Fairy Tail protects its own."

A knock interrupted their conversation.

"Come in," Makarov bade. Lucy sprang up, backing toward the corner of the office. She grew tense as she turned toward the door, hastily lifting the hood over her head to hide her identity. Her hand ghosted over her hidden dagger apprehensively.

A scarlet haired woman stood tall as she pushed open the door. She had a stern face and a commanding presence. She was wearing armor with a large sword hanging from her side. Although the armor was bulky, she looked at home amongst its mass.

"You requested my presence, Master?" the woman spoke, her voice was strong and confident. She glanced between Makarov and Lucy. Her hand came to rest on her sword as she sensed the tension coming from the latter.

"Yes, Erza," Makarov stood, waving her in. Erza closed the door and stepped forward. "I have a particular request that is of the utmost importance." He turned and motioned Lucy forward. "This is Lucy. She is the newest member of Fairy Tail."

Lucy forced herself to relax her stance as she stepped forward, cautiously lowering her hood. She hesitantly offered her hand to the armored woman.

"Erza Scarlet," the woman introduced herself, taking Lucy's hand in a crushing grip. "Welcome to Fairy Tail."

"Thank you," Lucy smiled politely as her hand was released.

"Have a seat, you two," Makarov instructed.

The two sat in the available seats, facing Makarov.

"Erza, I must ask your utmost discretion before I explain the situation," Makarov began. His voice was uncompromising. "Be aware that any association with Lucy could be deadly. The information I share with you today must not leave this room. Her identity must remain secret."

"Yes, Master," Erza responded. "I agree to your terms." She turned to Lucy, meeting her eyes. "You are a member of Fairy Tail and a friend to the Master. I will help you in any way you may require." Her voice was fiercely loyal. Lucy blinked at her in surprise.

Erza turned back to Makarov. He nodded before continuing.

"Lucy's mother was a dear friend of mine, Layla Heartfilia," he paused. Erza's eyes widened at the name, glancing over to Lucy who had lowered her eyes to her lap. Layla Heartfilia had been beloved by the people of Fiore for her unwavering kindness and compassion. She had been the wife of Jude Heartfilia, one of the wealthiest men in the country. "She was murdered two months ago." Makarov's voice was deathly grim.

Lucy heard Erza's sharp intake of breath. Lucy kept her eyes downcast as she felt her chest tighten with emotion. Her heart was still raw from the pain. Had it already been two months?

"Lucy was barely able to escape alive and now Layla's murderers are hunting her," Makarov continued. "You must know that any association with Lucy will mark you as a target. I cannot stress enough the danger of her situation. With that being said, I would like to ask you to train Lucy in combat. This training will take place in secret and no one must know. This is your decision and I cannot order you to risk your life."

Without hesitation, Erza turned to Lucy.

"Miss Heartfilia, I would be honored to train you in combat," her eyes gleamed with fire. "I would also like to offer my protection if the need should arise."

Lucy swallowed. Her eyes were wide in astonishment.

"Thank you, Erza," she spoke softly. "You can't imagine how thankful I am for your help. I will never be able to repay you for this kindness." She was feeling terribly indebted. Without even a second thought, Makarov and Erza had offered their protection even if it could mean their death. What had she done to deserve such kindness?

"You are nakama now," Erza shrugged matter-of-factly. "There is no need to repay me."

"Thank you, Erza," Makarov stated. "Lucy will go by the alias Lucy Ashley. No one is to know that she is a Heartfilia or that she comes from Acalypha. The truth of her heritage must remain a secret, even from Fairy Tail. She has been assigned the vacant apartment next to yours, Erza."

Erza raised her eyebrows, but chose not to comment.

"Now, I believe that is all we have to discuss for today. Erza," Makarov addressed the armor-clad woman. "I would like you to keep me informed on Lucy's progress."

"Yes, Master," Erza consented. She clapped Lucy on the shoulder, who jumped slightly in surprise. "Come, a warrior must keep her energy up. Let us go dine before we begin training."

Thanking Makarov, Lucy stood and pulled her hood up, once again covering her hair and hiding her face. Closing the office door behind her, Lucy hastened her pace to catch up with Erza's confident march as she followed her to the common room.

XXX

Only a few words were exchanged as the two ate. It was now lunchtime at the Guild and the room echoed with the clatter of silverware and the conversations of the rambunctious guild members. Erza had chosen a table in a shadowy corner, far removed from the notice of the bar patrons. Erza's stern frown kept curious passers-by from approaching and even her friends steered clear of the forbidding redhead.

Lucy kept her anxious attention on the people around her. She had grown quite used to the quiet of the woods in her weeks traveling to Magnolia. She found the noise of the guild nearly overwhelming. She kept her hood up as she ate. Although it made her feel as if she had tunnel vision and it obscured her peripheral vision, she was not comfortable enough to reveal herself. She looked far too like her mother for her liking. Since her mother's death had been in the newspapers and magazines lately, she worried Layla's face would be far too fresh in peoples' minds and may lead to her discovery. Although the cloak was cumbersome and awkward, it was far preferred to being discovered.

Finishing their meals, Erza motioned for Lucy to follow her to the armory. Collecting an assortment of weapons and handing them to Lucy to carry, Erza then lead the way down the winding corridors of Fairy Tail Guild Hall to a large, empty room. Erza locked the door behind them, securing their privacy. Lucy sat the weapons down and unclasped her hood, breathing a sigh of relief at having the cumbersome hood off of her head.

"Now Lucy," a wicked grin lit Erza's face making a shiver of apprehension make its way down Lucy's spine. "Are you ready to train?"

 **I did a poor job of editing, so please forgive me.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Fairy Tail and its characters belong to Hiro Mashima.**

 _Approximately one year later_

Lucy crouched atop the brick building where she had snuck her way into the city, cloaked in the darkness of night in the port city of Hargeon. She watched the night patrol making their way along the cobbled streets below her as she slowly crept along the building's edge. Once the coast was clear, Lucy shimmied her way down the steel pipes, landing neatly on the street.

She released a breath, keeping close to the brick walls as she wound her way through the city. Lucy stopped a few times, deliberating which direction to take. Her feet beat a quiet rhythm on the worn cobblestones. She finally made her way to the port where a large warehouse stood. This warehouse was the only spot in the city that was still bustling with activity. Men milled about, carrying cargo back and forth.

Lucy remained in the shadows behind the corner of a building, undetected. She surveyed her surroundings, taking inventory of her resources. The area around the warehouse was mostly open and paved, leaving room for large shipments to come in and out. Surrounding that open space were buildings and streets on one side and the ocean on the other. There was no way to approach without being seen due to the openness of the area. The warehouse was dully lit but the exterior was dark—no lights lit the area where the cargo came in and out. Could she get into one of the cargo boxes undetected?

No matter what way she entered, she would be going in blind. There was no way to get a peek inside the building unless she used one of her spirits.

Making a decision, she pulled forth a golden key from the pouch at her hip.

"Open, Gate of the Maiden, Virgo" Lucy whispered quietly, holding the key before her.

A dull light erupted, quickly extinguished. Where the light had appeared stood a pink haired woman in a maid outfit, silver chains adorning her wrists.

"You called, Princess?" she asked the cloaked woman before her.

"Thank you, Virgo. Can you dig a tunnel leading to that warehouse?" Lucy requested. "I need to get a look inside without being seen."

"Yes, Princess," the maid replied. She moved so quickly it was impossible to see her exact movements as she disappeared. Where she had stood a moment ago, now a human-sized hole opened up into the earth. A few moments later Virgo reappeared.

"Princess, the tunnel leads to a hidden corner of the warehouse," Virgo said. "From there, you should be well hidden but able to see much of the room."

"Thank you, Virgo," Lucy smiled at her spirit, thankful for her help.

"Is it time for punishment, Princess?" the maid asked.

"Erm, no, Virgo," Lucy deadpanned.

"Open my gate if you need help, Princess," the maid said before returning to the celestial world. _You know I can't do that_ , Lucy thought to herself. Her magic was too identifiable and would immediately alert others to who she was. She shook her head. She hoped it didn't come to that.

Lucy took in her surroundings one last time before dropping into the tunnel Virgo had made. She quickly made her way down the dark tunnel. Gradually, it began to rise, leading upward. Lucy slowed as she approached the end of the tunnel. Virgo had placed a small cargo crate over the end of the tunnel, obscuring it from the outside. Lucy paused below the box, listening intently. She heard the muffled sounds of cargo being unloaded and the murmur of voices. None of the sounds came from nearby. Lucy reached up and very slowly scooted the crate aside, careful not to make a noise. She paused again, listening carefully. The movement did not seem to alert anyone to her presence.

She slowly peeked out of the tunnel, taking in her surroundings. Around her were neatly stacked walls of boxes. The floor was concrete. She heard the voices of the men nearby as they unloaded a wagon full of cargo. The loud scrapings and pounding of the crates hitting the concrete reverberated through her body. Slowly, she lifted herself up. She was along the side of the warehouse, close to the wall and between conjoining rows of crates.

With infinite care, Lucy crept along the rows of crates until she was close enough to make out the faces of the workers, but still remain hidden. She took in the scene before her.

There were perhaps twelve men unloading a large wagon. Each crate easily took two men just to lift. One man stood to the side, directing the work of the others. She listened carefully.

There was a loud crash, making Lucy jump, when two men dropped one of the large crates.

"You two be careful with the cargo!" the man in charge shouted, glaring at the two who were hastily working to lift the crate. "Master Bora will have all our hides if the goods are damaged."

Lucy's ears perked at the name, her breath catching in her throat.

So, Bora was their master? Lucy couldn't believe her luck.

Lucy backed away slowly from the group of men unloading cargo. She would need to search the building first for any sign of Bora. It would be a waste to attack these men and alert him of her presence and allow him to flee.

Lucy continued to sneak her way along the westward wall of the building, searching for any doors that could lead to another annex of the warehouse or an office where Bora may be.

"Let's see who's hiding under that hood," a smooth voice asked from just behind Lucy, freezing her blood.

Lucy forced herself to unfreeze, smoothly hooked her hand on the whip attached at her hip and spun with deadly efficiently, flicking the whip outwards to snap against the flesh of the person behind her. The person had made to reach for her but was met with the sting of the whip. The man snarled in anger and pain.

"You little bitch," he snarled, looking at his bleeding arm.

"Didn't your mother teach you it's rude to touch people without their permission?" Lucy asked, raising her eyebrows mockingly. She continued to lash out with her whip, pushing the man back step by step.

Growing angry, the man lunged forward, reaching for Lucy with a snarl. She whirled, narrowly dodging the man. Turning back to face him, lowered in a battle stance, she lashed out with her whip, catching the man on the wrist. Catching him off guard, she anchored her weight before dragging him forward. In a flash, she whipped out a knife and held it to the man's throat, pressing hard enough to draw a droplet of blood.

"Where's Bora?" She snarled at the man.

"As if I would tell you, _fairy_ ," he growled back, a smirk growing on his face.

Lucy released her whip from the man's hand before pulling back her fist and punching him in the jaw. The man stumbled backwards, but Lucy caught the front of his shirt, pulling him back for a second, third, fourth hit.

"Where is Bora?" she growled again.

"Are you looking for me, fairy?" a voice called from above her.

Walking along the raised platform above her head stood Bora, a lecherous smile coating his face, his deep purple cloak flowing around him. Lucy released the beaten man, giving him a dismissive kick before he crumpled to the floor, groaning in pain.

"Where are you keeping the keys?" Lucy demanded, looking up at Bora, still keeping her hood up to cover her head.

"What makes you think I would tell you?" Bora snarled back, the smirk disappearing.

Quick as a flash, Lucy lashed out with her whip, but Bora was too quick. He whirled, sending a blast of fire magic toward Lucy who managed to dodge the licking flames and somersaulted behind a large crate. Bora continued to send the bright fuchsia flames her direction. The spiral of flames enveloped the crate, causing a small explosion as the crate burst into flames. Crouching, Lucy sprinted to a wall of crates, using the debris and smoke from the detonation to cover her movements, the force of the blast pushing her forward.

Cautiously watching for Bora, Lucy discreetly pulled out Virgo's key, communicating instructions to the maiden telepathically through the key's magic. After a dull glow of light, Virgo delved deep into the ground, creating a small tunnel. Lucy jumped down the tunnel, following in Virgo's wake, her arms outstretched to feel her way along the pitch black walls. The tunnel completed, Virgo discreetly disappeared through her gate key, leaving Bora none the wiser.

Lucy travelled upward through the end of the tunnel which let her out directly behind Bora who was angrily overturning crates and blasting his way through walls of cargo with his fuchsia flames.

Lucy quickly popped out of the tunnel, flicking her whip to wrap around the man's ankle, bringing him flailing to the ground as she leapt on him. A grunt was ripped from his body at the impact. Lucy began to pummel the man, using as much of her smaller stature to hold the larger man down.

Bora suddenly grabbed her and rolled the two of them as he used a flaming fist to punch her stomach. With a gasp, Lucy brought her knee up to his stomach and then used her elbow to catch the man in the face with the pointed joint, effectively pushing his body to the side and allowing her to roll away from him and spring to her feet.

Lucy gasped as she moved, a growing pain in her ribs slowing her down. She grabbed her second whip from the loop on her belt, snapping the two in sync as she faced Bora, who was climbing to his feet, his flames surrounding his body as he prepared to fight her.

Lucy was hampered by her inability to use magic. Her magic was her signature—entirely unique to her—and would instantly identify her as Lucy Heartfilia, a risk she was not willing to take.

Bora's men, meanwhile, had come to realize their leader was facing attack. Lucy tensed as she heard their running footsteps coming up behind her, trapping her between them and their leader.

With a grunt, Lucy flicked her whip with her right hand, snagging the corner of the aisle shelf. With a huge tug, she was able to cause the shelf to teeter. She dodged a ball of fuchsia flames sent her way by Bora as the crate began to fall, blocking off the men from reaching her.

It was just her and Bora now, as his men sought a way past the shelves.

"Where are the keys, Bora?" Lucy growled. The man sneered at her. He opened his long jacket, pulling from the pocket a set of shining gold keys. Lucy's eyes followed their movement.

"Why don't you come and get 'em, sweetheart?" the man smiled challengingly.

Lucy charged forward, throwing a whip in his face, distracting him. The second whip she snapped so that it wrapped around his neck. She pulled it tight, choking him and bringing him to his knees.

She approached, keeping a firm hand on the whip around his neck, and viciously ripped open his jacket to snag the keys. But before she even had a chance to get her hand on them, the man, taking advantage of her closeness, sprang forward and barreled into her, taking her to the ground. He sat on her, holding her down with his weight as he ripped the whip off of his neck. Too late, Lucy realized the brass knuckles that adorned his fists. One right after another, the fists beat her face.

"Now you're mine, fairy," the man growled. "My men will take you over and over again before we sell you off as a slave."

Lucy managed to wrench one of her hands free and used all of her strength to hit Bora in his windpipe, causing him to choke. She fiercely wrestled out from beneath him, scrambling to her feet. She kicked him, once, twice, three times, battering his face.

Just then, something hit her from behind and she crumpled to the ground, crushed beneath the large crate. She panted as she hefted the giant thing off of her, only to find the Bora was back on his feet, two of his men at his back. Lucy scrambled up, her body screaming in pain.

"Those are some impressive skills you have with that whip," a voice said from behind her.

Lucy spun, panting as she backed away, keeping herself from being trapped between two opponents. She cracked her whips threatening.

A young man stood before her, crouched in a battle stance. But he wasn't facing her—he was facing Bora instead. He had spiky pink hair and was wearing a one sleeved vest with a white scarf wrapped around his neck. A bright red Fairy Tail guild mark adorned his upper arm on the arm that was sleeveless.

"But this is my fight," the pink haired stranger continued. His fists lit with glowing red flames. _Fire magic!_ Lucy thought in slight awe.

"Not a chance, pinkie," Lucy argued back, turning away from the pink haired intruder. Who did this guy think he was?

"Pinkie?" the guy dropped his battle stance, turning to stare at Lucy with incredulity.

Lucy glared at the young man.

"I hate to break up this little debate, but my prey is escaping," Lucy said. Sure enough, Bora was retreating away from the two wizards, whether to escape to safety or to launch a surprise attack from behind the rows of boxes was indeterminable. His two men stood before her, blocking her way. Before Lucy even had a chance to fight them, the pinkette got to them first.

"Go get Bora!" he shouted at her. "I've got these idiots" he smiled menacingly as he pummeled the two men.

Lucy didn't need to be told twice. She turned and hurried after Bora, catching him just before he could disappear behind a rack. Flicking out her whip, she snagged it around his wrist. Throwing her weight into the rope, she sat back, causing Bora to spin back around to face her.

"It's cowardly to leave a battle in the middle of a fight," Lucy growled at the man while she stalked forward, looking much like a cat stalking its prey. "Now, hand over the keys," she demanded

Bora began to struggle in earnest against her whip. Using a fierce blast of magic, he singed the whip that was around his wrist. Lucy lunged forward, barreling into a bodily attack on the large man's frame. She lashed out, her sharp knuckles meeting the larger man's stomach. She deftly pulled forth a dagger from a strap on her thigh.

She held the dagger to the side as she spun and sliced the knife against Bora's arm, enraging the man. With a ferocity that shocked Lucy, the man snarled and doubled his attack on her.

"Watch out, blondie!" the pinkette shouted as he barreled past her, taking Bora with him. They crashed into the storage racks, nearly bringing the whole thing toppling down on them. Lucy looked around, realizing the pinkette had wreaked havoc on Bora's men, leaving nothing but disaster in his wake.

With a flaming fist, the pinkette repeatedly pummeled the man even after he seemed to have passed out cold.

"Pinkie!" Lucy shouted. "I think ya got him," she said with only a twinge of humor in her voice.

The pinkette looked up at her, then down at the man.

"Oh," he chuckled. "Guess I overdid it a little." He rubbed his neck awkwardly. "Still got those handcuffs?" he asked. Lucy handed them to the pinkette, but before he could handcuff the man, Lucy rushed forward, snagging the golden keys from the Bora's pocket and clutching them to her chest.

 _You're safe now_ , she thought to the keys and they glowed gently in answer to her warm thoughts.

"Who are you?" the pinkette asked from beside her as he bound Bora's hands with the magical handcuffs and, for good measure, used a length of cord to bind his feet as well.

"No one," Lucy returned. She bowed her head to keep the hood in place as she quickly spun to leave, her cloak flying out behind her.

"You're a Fairy Tail mage, aren't you?" he called out to her retreating back.

Lucy kept walking, raised her hand in the air to show her pink Fairy Tail mark, with her index finger and thumb extended, in the signature Fairy Tail wave.

The pinkette chuckled, watching her disappear into the night. Had Gramps knowingly sent him on the same mission this other girl had taken? Whether he did or not, Natsu had some questions for him when he returned to the guild.

 **Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Fairy Tail and its characters belong to Hiro Mashima.**

Lucy sat in the warmth of her apartment. It had taken her hours to walk back from Hargeon, but she couldn't risk taking the train back. Lucy wasn't sure, but she worried she may have broken a rib. If she tried to take a deep breath, a piercing, white hot pain shot through her midsection, causing her to gasp from shock. It had taken her quite a while to wash the dried blood off her face where the brass knuckles had struck her. Her left cheek was a complete mess—swollen purple with an ugly gash.

Lucy had luxuriated in a hot bath upon her return. It was one of the few real luxuries she allowed herself as she relaxed her strained muscles and purple bruises in the hot water. She inspected her injuries with care. She would need to go to Porlyusica in the morning to have her look at the ribs, just to be sure. But overall, her injuries would heal just fine.

Snuggled under blankets on her couch, Lucy gently fingered the keys on the look she had taken from Bora.

"Open, Gate of the Ram, Aries," she announced to the quiet of her apartment. A bright ray of golden light appeared and in it stood a small woman. The light quickly disappeared.

The woman was incredibly small and terribly shy. She would barely meet Lucy's eyes.

"Hi Aries," Lucy said sweetly, taking in the innocence of the slight woman. "I'm Lucy Heartfilia."

"I know who you are Miss Lucy," Aries bleated in her quiet voice. "Thank you for taking us from Bora."

"I would like to give you a choice," Lucy decided to cut to the chase. "You may make a contract with me or I can help you find your previous owner or an owner of your choosing. Please take some time to think it over."

"If you please, Miss Lucy, I would like to make a contract with you," Aries stuttered, blushing and looking down at her feet. "We all know the history of your family and the greatness of your name. It would be my honor to serve you."

"Are you sure, Aries?" Lucy prompted gently.

"Yes, Miss," Aries assured her, nibbling her fingernail in nervousness.

The two discussed the terms of their contract, which went very quickly.

"Thank you Aries," Lucy said, extending her hand to Aries. "I look forward to working with you." She smiled warmly at the shy woman.

"Th-thank you, Miss Lucy," Aries said with a light blush, accepting Lucy's hand before returning to the celestial world.

The process went similarly for the remaining keys that Lucy had taken from Bora. She met and made contracts with Gemini, two twin spirits who were capable of assuming the appearance and knowledge of any person they saw, and Scorpio, the large half-scorpion, half-man spirit who was capable of creating dust attacks and attacking with his enormous scorpion stinger.

After all of the contracts had been settled, Lucy sat in the silence of her apartment, gently holding the keys of her spirits and smiling warmly. She was incredibly moved that the spirits had chosen to create a contract with her. She knew that history of her family was deeply entwined in the celestial world and it would be common knowledge to all of the Zodiac spirits.

Feeling rather lonely after all of the spirits had returned to the spirit world, Lucy called upon her friendly _Nikola_ spirit, Plue. Plue was a rather odd looking dog spirit who rather resembled a snowman, with his small white body and orange carrot nose. Cuddling the dog spirit closely, Lucy snuggled up with a blanket and chose to read in her chair by the fireplace. Her body was still sore from the fight, but it had been worth the pain to release these spirits from the tyrannous clutches of Bora. Who knows what would have become of them if Makarov hadn't sent Lucy after them.

Eventually, Lucy drifted off to sleep with her small _Nikola_ spirit in her arms. He moved a few times in the night, gently waking her. She would smile fondly at his sleeping face before snuggling back down to rest.

XXX

Meanwhile, a few miles away, the large wooden doors to the Fairy Tail guild hall suddenly burst open.

"I'm home!" Natsu hollered to all who were gathered, a self-satisfied smirk on his lips. He was met with the usual chaos contained within the walls of the guild hall. A few people cheered and waved at their favorite dragon slayer. Other people were too busy drinking. Even more people were too busy fighting and throwing things.

Natsu ducked as a frozen bar stool flew toward his head. Natsu let out a stream of flames that instantly incinerated the stool.

"Watch where you're throwing things, Ice Prick," Natsu yelled, his eyes taking on a menacing gleam.

"I was watching where I was throwing," a dark haired young man replied. His lips quirked upward, "I missed."

XXX

Lucy woke the next morning, still curled around Plue's warm little body. She had a crick in her neck from sleeping in the chair instead of her fluffy bed. Yawning, she stretched from her place on her chair, the blanket falling from her shoulders. A sudden, blinding pain coursed through her body from her bruised ribs and she immediately hunched over in the chair, letting out a shocked gasp. She lifted her shirt to take a look at the tender flesh and was stunned at the sheer size of the bruise covering her skin. She would go to Porlyusica's to have it checked out today.

As Plue stretched and came awake, she gave him a scratch, hissing at pain from bending over, before closing his gate and returning him to the celestial world. Her small apartment felt much lonelier without the little dog spirit.

Frowning, Lucy tenderly climbed out of her chair. After a leisurely bath, Lucy dressed in her usual outfit comprised of grey pants, a loose-fitting blouse, and her usual cloak and hood. She tied her hair back tightly and wrapped a pink bandana around her head to help hide her blonde locks.

She exited the apartment, carefully locking the door behind her and inspecting the surrounding street. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she pulled her cloak higher over her head and began her walk to Porlyusica's cabin outside of the city. Lucy was careful to inspect the people she passed while avoiding eye contact so as to not draw any unwanted attention. She passed mothers with their children headed to the market, maids and servants going about their errands, and a few wealthy nobles in carriages.

Her feet clicked on the rough cobblestone of Magnolia. The morning air was brisk and she remained cool beneath the cover of the cloak, for which she was thankful. The sakura trees in Magnolia Park were studded with happy little buds that would soon bloom. Lucy enjoyed watching them every day, hoping for a glimpse of blushing pink that would indicate that the blossoms were finally blooming.

Near the gates of the city, Lucy suddenly became aware that she was being watched. She realized that she had instinctively been feeling the presence of the other person but had been too absorbed in admiring the sakura trees to pay attention to her gut. _Damn,_ she thought. Would it be safer to stay in the confines of the city or to escape into the woods surrounding the city? She had to be careful not to lead her stalker to a place that may endanger others. There was no way she could run to Fairy Tail—what if they realized her connection to the guild? And she couldn't hide at Porlyusica's. The old woman lived alone. Although Porlyusica was fierce enough to scare even Erza, Lucy wasn't willing to put her in harm's way.

Lucy paused in trepidation, pretending to search for something in the pockets of her cloak as her eyes scanned the surrounding area, trying to locate the watcher. Her eyes inspected the roofs and windows of the surrounding buildings, travelling over every nook and cranny. She eyed the few people on the streets, none of which even glanced her direction.

Realizing that her best bet would be to try to lose the person in the maze of Magnolia streets or get a glimpse of the person if he or she slipped up during the chase, Lucy turned abruptly and began to stride in another street. She zigzagged her way through the cobbled streets, wisely avoiding any dead ends or empty alleyways. She picked up her pace, her cloak whipping around her feet.

She could still sense that her follower was near, but she couldn't pinpoint his or her location. She strained her ears, listening for any hint of pursuit. Her heart thundered in her chest as adrenaline began to pump in her system. She knew from her trainings with Erza that adrenaline could be detrimental to escape as it often left the person drained. With that in mind, she worked to control her breathing and to open her mind and not let the fear control her.

 _Have they found me?_ She wondered to herself. She pushed away the thought. She needed to lose her pursuer before she stressed herself out with the whos and whys. She needed to keep her mind clear to give her a chance at escape.

She made her way to the most crowded area of Magnolia in the hope of losing the person amongst the large crowds in the marketplace. Lucy ducked, lowering herself to help her blend in with the crowds. Keeping herself low, she hastily weaved her way amongst the milling citizens. She ducked behind a booth, her eyes scanning the crowd, but no one seemed to be following. Standing in the shadows of the curtained booth, her eyes hastily scanned the surrounding buildings. No human form could be seen on the roofs of the building. Keeping a hunched position, she strode back into the crowds and weaved her way this way and that, before making her way to the other side of the marketplace.

 _I think I've lost them_ , she hoped to herself. She couldn't sense them anywhere near her. She couldn't risk using her magic. If she could, she would have had Virgo tunnel her out of here or called on Taurus to fight her stalker. Once Lucy reached the end of the marketplace and the crowd thinned, she wove her way through several more streets before bursting into a sprint. Her ribs screamed in pain at being jostled and each breath felt like knives being stabbed into her side. She zigged and zagged down side streets toward the western gates. Reaching the guard post at the entrance of the city, Lucy paused, her back pressed against the high city walls and her body cloaked in the shade of the guard house. No one seemed to be following her. That nagging feeling of eyes watching her was gone. She sighed in relief before dragging her body away from the wall. She pulled the cloak higher, masking her face. The guards watched her curiously as she made her exit but she was careful to mask her figure as best she could. She hunched a little and made an effort to drag her foot as if she had a limp. She kept her face tilted down, avoiding any wandering stares.

Following the path until the guards could no longer see her figure, Lucy then straightened and began to stride quickly through the forest. She paused, her ears and eyes straining for a hint of her follower. The birds continued to chirp happily, undisturbed by her silent flight through the woods. Surely the presence of another person would alert them and cause them to go silent. Lucy felt more confident. She continued to walk. Porlyusica lived in the East Forest and due to her follower, Lucy had been forced to exit through the west gates of Magnolia.

What a pain in the ass, Lucy grumbled to herself. She continued to scan the surrounding area. Her eyes flickered uneasily to her surroundings as she walked. She strained her ears, listening for any footfalls or the telltale signs that she had a follower. The birds continued to chirp, undisturbed in their morning routines.

It took Lucy over an hour to walk to Porlyusica's house. It was located in a small clearing with no discernible paths leading to or from the house. An ignorant passerby on the road would have no idea there was even a cabin in that section of the woods. As Lucy approached, she paused near the edge of the clearing. Her eyes scanned the area, ensuring the area was empty. Slowly she made her way to the door. No smoke came from the chimney, and yet there was a distinct hint of cooking food in the air.

Lucy knocked on the door, knowing that Porlyusica already knew of her arrival. Porlyusica had an innate way of knowing when humans neared her house. She was a hermit who held a distinct hatred for humanity. Hell, she could barely stand Lucy's presence for the length of time it took to heal her.

"Porlyusica, I know you're here," Lucy grumbled, knowing the woman's keen hearing would catch her low voice. Lucy pounded on the door again.

"Stop that incessant noise," Porlyusica growled from the other side of the door, sounding very much like a wolverine or some angry woodland creature. Lucy almost chuckled. Although the woman had a very hard exterior, she had always been dedicated to healing her visitors and providing them comfort during the healing process. Although she was always happy to kick them out the moment their healing was completed.

Slowly the front door to the cabin opened, revealing the stern face of the healer. Her hair was in a tight bun with what appeared to be bones holding them in place. She furrowed a brow as she looked Lucy up and down.

"What did you do this time, child?" she questioned exasperatedly.

"There was a fight," Lucy responded. "The bastard punched me in the ribs and I fear they're bruised, if not broken."

"Come in," Porlyusica opened the door slightly, allowing Lucy entry. The woman stood in the door, her eyes scanning the area and her nostrils flaring as she used her senses to search for danger. Sensing nothing, the old woman stepped back and closed the door securely.

The house was dark with all the blinds being drawn securely. There was a slight smell of the herbs and concoctions that Porlyusica used in her healing, but the smells were surprisingly muted. Porlyusica probably went through a great deal of trouble to keep the smells to a minimum, seeing as how her senses were stronger than an average human and the smells of herbs would cloud her ability to smell oncoming danger.

Lucy took a seat on the small table in Porlyusica's alcove she used as an examination room. As Porlyusica approached, Lucy carefully lifted her shirt high, baring her stomach and ribs. Porlyusica glared at the purple expanse of skin Lucy had revealed.

"Tch," she growled. "Take better care of yourself, child," she grumbled. "One of these days you won't be able to drag yourself back here."

Lucy frowned, looking down at her knees as she reflected on Porlyusica's words. It was a fear she often had—that one day she would be injured too severely and be unable to make it to the safety of Makarov's or Polyusica's. Being alone, no one would know to look for her. Every day she knew she could die and if she did, no one would be the wiser. The world would not know even that she existed, nor that she had left the world.

Porlyusica prodded Lucy's ribs, drawing Lucy out of her reverie. Lucy hissed in pain, flinching away from Porlyusica's ministrations. Porlysusica raised a brow at Lucy who hastily wiped her face of emotion and stopped moving away from the older woman. Porlyusica continued to examine the young woman for several minutes, listening to her lungs and prodding the bruised area several times.

"I have a new healer," Porlyusica suddenly said. Lucy looked up in surprise.

Porlyusica notoriously hated humans and as far as Lucy remembered, had always worked alone. As it was, the cantankerous woman could barely stand her friend, Makarov.

"Wendy," Porlyusica continued. "She can be trusted," she said simply.

Lucy nodded, glancing up at the woman as she worked before returning her gaze to her lap.

"Wendy is part of Fairy Tail. You can find her there in an emergency," Porlyusica continued to explain. Although she said little, Lucy could sense the import of her words. Although the old woman would never admit any sort of affection toward the young blonde, Lucy knew that she was closer to Porlyusica than most humans had ever been. Porlyusica's warnings ran deep. Porlyusica was one of the few people who knew the challenges that Lucy faced and knew that the smallest slip in Lucy's guard—just by trusting the wrong person—could end in Lucy's death. If this Wendy was trustworthy enough for Porlyusica to mention to Lucy, Lucy knew she could be trusted. This aided her in a way—if she was ever too injured to make it to the cabin, Lucy may have a chance to make it to the guild to get healing by Wendy.

"Thank you," Lucy said gratefully. The old woman ignored the comment and continued her work. A few minutes later, the woman withdrew.

"Cracked rib," she muttered. "It will take a few weeks to heal on its own. Others are bruised. Your cheek could use a couple stitches as well."

Lucy sighed, ignoring the pain that accompanied the movement. She didn't have time to sit at home and heal, but the injury would seriously hamper her abilities in a fight and potentially open her up to further injury if her opponent realized her weak spot.

"Wendy has the ability to heal it," Porlyusica continued as if reading Lucy's thoughts, looking down at the woman significantly.

Lucy nodded.

"Where do I find her?" Lucy asked.

"She's at the guild today. She will be here tomorrow for her apprenticeship," Porlyusica said. "For now, take this," she handed Lucy a vial of liquid. "Take it twice daily. It will ease the pain and begin the healing. Even with this it will take several weeks for the rib to heal in case you are unable to return for Wendy to heal you tomorrow."

Lucy nodded again.

"Thank you, Porlyusica," she said, smiling gratefully at the old woman, her eyes crinkling at the corners from her bright smile.

Porlyusica almost looked as if she could crack a smile as she stepped away and began to rush the girl out of her cabin.

"Now go, and keep out of trouble until that rib heals," she said as a bid farewell as Lucy made her way to the front door of the cabin.

Lucy slowly opened the door, her eyes scanning the area apprehensively. Finding nothing amiss, she pulled the door open the rest of the way and made her way out. She waved one last time to Porlyusica before closing the door behind herself.

The sun was starting to lower itself in the sky and in a few hours it would be dusk. Lucy made her way through the woods, walking slowly so as to not aggravate her ribs. Her mood brightened as she listened to the happily chirping birds and the comforting sounds the woods had to offer. It was a few miles later that Lucy began to sense she was being watched. Her eyes searched desperately through the foliage. Was it just a curious animal in the woods? Or something more sinister? Could it be her stalker from earlier this morning?

Lucy felt a nervous adrenaline begin to pump through her veins and worked hard to control her body's natural reaction to her fear. She took deep breaths, trying to be inconspicuous as she looked around the woods around her, searching for the eyes that watched her. The birds continued to chirp merrily, so if there was a predator nearby, they had not yet sensed it.

Lucy continued walking, knowing that she had few options left. She could not return to Porlyusica and endanger the old woman. She did not want to dawdle in the woods overlong in fear that the darkness would make it harder to sense an attacker.

 _It must be a person,_ Lucy thought to herself. The birds would not be chirping if a large predator were nearby. Small predators would not be interested in a human—curious maybe, but not enough to follow her for so long. _It must be a human_ , she reasoned. They obviously knew the woods well enough to navigate without alarming the wildlife. Fear began to trickle down her spine. If it was a human, why were they just following her? It would be easier to attack her in the woods where there were no prying eyes. Lucy frowned as she walked. Was she imagining the feeling? No, she couldn't afford to distrust her instincts. Over the last year of training with Erza, Lucy had learned to trust her instincts.

The sun was getting lower in the sky and the shaded woods were quickly growing darker. Lucy began to hurry. She didn't want to exhaust her energy in case it came down to a fight, but neither did she want to be stuck in the woods with an unknown attacker. Where was this person and how were they hiding so well?

Lucy was nearing the final half mile to the city wall when she finally heard the snapping of a twig nearby to her left near some thick brush. She whirled, whipping out a dagger with one hand. Her whip would be useless with so many brambles to get tangled in. She charged toward the sound, determined to find the source.

She saw the shape of a human amongst the dense foliage and made to charge the person. Using her body, she slammed into the person who immediately began to struggle as she grappled for their cloak, anything, to try to reveal her pursuer. The person was dressed in a heavy cloak that shrouded their face. She figured it must be a man, for he was far too tall and muscular to be a woman.

The person managed to push Lucy several paces back. She stumbled before gaining her feet and lowering herself into a fighting stance. The person in front of her did not reciprocate.

"Who are you?" Lucy asked in an angry voice. Why had this person been following her all day? He had had plenty of opportunities to attack her in the woods, so why hadn't he?

"You're a weirdo, blondie," the person stated matter-of-factly, not moving from his casual stance.

Lucy started, frowning at the stranger in confusion. He'd been following her all day just to say she was a weirdo?

"Who are you and why are you following me?" Lucy demanded, glaring at the man.

The man raised a hand and lowered his hood. Lucy gaped in surprise.

The first thing her eyes settled on was the color pink. Spiky pink locks of hair framed the man's tan face and a bright smile lit his face.

"Remember me, blondie?" he asked, still grinning like a fool.

"What are you doing here, pinkie?" Lucy said derisively. She looked away from the man to glance around the woods, searching for an explanation for his presence.

"Making sure you made it back to Magnolia safely," the man shrugged as if this was the most natural thing in the world. Lucy frowned at him.

"Why were you following me?" she demanded again.

He shrugged again.

"We're guild mates," he said as if stating the most obvious fact. "I thought you may have been injured in the fight with Bora and it looks like I was right." He raised his brow superiorly.

Slowly, Lucy rose out of her fighting stance. Apparently this guy wasn't here to attack her—he was just an idiot. She continued to stare at him in confusion, waiting for him to continue his explanation.

"We're guild mates," he said as if speaking to someone too dense to understand. "We look out for one another. I've never seen you around the guild, so I wanted to make sure you were alright." He shrugged, watching her apprehensively.

Lucy's brow furrowed in confusion. This man had followed her through Magnolia and found her in the woods on her way back from Porlyusica's. Was he truly just a concerned guild mate? Lucy knew that Fairy Tail held very idealistic ideals of nakama and friendship, but she hadn't been on the receiving end of it in this way before. Could a stranger really be so concerned over her? It didn't make sense. She shook her head in confusion.

"You're a weirdo," the man said again, smirking as he watched her absorb their conversation.

"I'm not a weirdo," Lucy nearly snarled. First he stalks her, scares her, then insults her? A vein throbbed in her forehead.

"I'm Natsu," he said, smiling brightly again. When she continued to stare at him suspiciously, he eyed he frowned. "Did you injure your head? This is usually the part where you introduce yourself."

Lucy's eye twitched. _What is he playing at?_

She eyed him dubiously, one brow raised.

"Lucy," she said quietly, as if the trees themselves would hear her secret.

A smile lit Natsu's features immediately.

"Well, come on Luigi," Natsu said, turning to walk away towards the city gates.

"It's Lucy," Lucy snarled, glaring at his retreating back.

"Lucy, then," he threw a smirk over his shoulder. "Are you coming or not?"

Lucy continued to stand in confusion. _What just happened?_

"I'm hungry," Natsu grumbled, turning to face her. "Come _on_ ," he urged.

As he turned and began walking again, Lucy was shaken from her confused jumble of thoughts. Doubtfully, she slowly began following the pink haired man, her senses on full alert.

"What did old lady Porlyusica have to say?" Natsu asked casually, not looking back at Lucy.

She continued to walk in silence. _Why is he asking me this?_ She wondered.

At her silence, Natsu turned to look at her over his shoulder, finding Lucy several feet behind him, watching him in return with a very confused and suspicious look on her face. She had yet to put away her dagger and kept it gripped securely in her hand, knife point upward, facing Natsu's back. Shaking his head, Natsu turned to face forward, grumbling about weirdos.

Lucy followed behind Natsu in silence, a confused frown marring her brow. She watched him carefully, analyzing his movements. He moved naturally in the woods, as if he was raised there. He seemed entirely comfortable and at ease, appearing completely comfortable having a stranger walking behind him out of eyesight. Her frown deepened. _Is this a trap?_ She wondered. She began to analyze her surroundings more carefully, but could neither hear nor see anything out of the ordinary. Natsu was not leading her off course but was headed straight for the city gates. What did this all mean?

"How long have you been a part of Fairy Tail?" Natsu suddenly broke the silence, turning back to Lucy with a wide smile. She frowned at him as she contemplated her answer.

"Over a year," she muttered, seeing little harm in letting him know this small detail.

"Funny, I've never seen you around before," he continued.

"I keep to myself," she stated bluntly. _Take the hint._

Natsu hummed to himself as he took in her statement.

The pair walked in silence for a while longer. Lucy gradually began to feel more at ease. She could not sense anyone else lurking in the woods, so this boy must not have any backup waiting to attack her. Natsu kept up a fairly slow pace for which Lucy was thankful for. With the pain from her cracked rib, she wasn't up for a fast-paced trek through the woods. Natsu occasionally glanced back at her and was always met with her calculating stare as she tried to decode his behavior.

"Are you hungry?" Natsu asked, turning around and walking backward for a moment in order to speak to Lucy face-to-face.

"That is none of your concern," Lucy responded, her eyes tight with suspicion.

"I'm gonna ask Mira for her biggest plate of fire chicken," Natsu continued, his eyes glazing over in excitement. "Mira makes the best fire chicken in all of Magnolia!"

He turned back to face the front once again and Lucy could practically sense his thoughts a million miles away, focused on platters of fire chicken no doubt.

"How long have you been in Fairy Tail?" Lucy suddenly asked. She wasn't sure where the question came from as she hadn't decided if she wanted to talk to this strange, pink haired boy.

"Since I was a kid," Natsu turned back with a face-splitting smile. Lucy noticed the way the smile made the corners of his eyes crinkle. The smile truly did light his entire face. "I ended up there after my dad disappeared. Makarov took me in." He trailed off as he navigated over a large log. He turned back to Lucy, offering his hand to assist her over the log. She ignored his offer, moving away from him and lithely springing over the fallen tree, ignoring the pain in her ribs.

Natsu returned to walking with Lucy following behind him.

"What brought you to Fairy Tail?" he asked, looking back at her. _This kid really likes to chat,_ Lucy noted to herself.

She shook her head in answer to his question, refusing to answer his question. He frowned at her before going back to walking. Not turning around, he began to speak.

"You know, Fairy Tail is nakama. We are all family. I hope you can see that one day."

Lucy bristled. "It would be unfair for me to drag others into my problems," she said, glaring at his back.

"Fairy Tail takes care of their own," Natsu said with a shrug. Lucy watched his wide shoulders move in the shrug, but he seemed to drop the topic.

"Do you live at Fairy Hills?" he asked.

"No," Lucy said, not offering further details. She had felt guilty taking advantage of Makarov's hospitality. She knew her presence at Fairy Hills endangered the other girls living there and it was unfair to endanger innocent people, especially without their knowledge. It had taken her a few months of missions to get enough money to move into her own place, but she was proud of what she had accomplished. She was careful not to be spotted at the guild and timed her visits to avoid the usual visitors. She and Erza still continued their training, but it was done in utmost secrecy in a private training yard Erza had secured. She only met with Makarov in the privacy of his office and usually in the early hours of the morning when most of the guild members were asleep.

"I let Makarov know we captured Bora," Natsu continued. "Did he tell you I was going to be there?"

"No," Lucy responded.

"Me either," Natus responded. They were nearing the gates of the city by this time and Lucy could see the top of the wall in the distance. "Funny how we ended up there at the same time," Natsu remarked.

Lucy hummed in response, unconcerned with the details. She needed to return to the guild and find Wendy to heal her. With any luck, she could go on another mission by the end of the week. She was already antsy, her mind preoccupied with the responsibility of her missions.

Lucy slowed her pace, distancing herself from Natsu as they approached the gates. She reached up and carefully tugged the hood securely over her head, feeling around to make sure none of her hair had escaped from its binding. Lucy was careful to mask her identity the best she could, hunching her back and dropping her face to hide it from the guards' inquiring gazes. Natsu cheerfully strode through the gates, whistling happily, nodding and waving to each of the guards.

After passing through the gates, Lucy sharply turned left. She made sure to take a different path to Fairy Tail every time she passed through the gates. Her hope was that even if someone were to notice the frequency with which she passed the gates, they wouldn't track her through the city and link her to Fairy Tail or track her to her apartment.

A hand suddenly clasped onto her shoulder. Lucy tensed and whirled, ripping herself from the grip.

"Calm down," Natsu said, standing before her and watching her apprehensively. "Why are you going that way?" he questioned.

Lucy stared at him for a moment before answering.

"I don't want anyone tracking me to Fairy Tail," she responded. As she spoke, she glanced around. They were still in the open streets at the entrance of the city. Handfuls of people walked in and out of the gates, many smiling and nodding to the guards. Some of the guards spoke amongst themselves or spoke with passing citizens. Everything seemed calm and no one appeared to be watching the interaction between the hooded citizen and the pink haired wizard.

Natsu shrugged.

"Okay," he said. "We'll do it your way. Go ahead and lead," he said, smiling at her.

Lucy stared up at him apprehensively. Did he really mean to walk with her to the guild hall?

"I can get there by myself," she returned, her brows furrowed as she looked up at the pinkette.

"I know you can," he said, rolling his eyes. "But we're both going there so we might as well go together."

Lucy watched him for another minute before resolutely turning and beginning her walk through the side streets of the city. Lucy's eyes constantly swept her surroundings, checking windows for prying eyes and keeping her head ducked low around passing citizens. She could hear Natsu slightly behind her. He was doing something—she could hear the rustling of cloth, but she did not spare a glance at the pink haired idiot.

She suddenly heard his quick footsteps and spun around to look at him. There Natsu stood along the wall of a building, crouching behind a wooden barrel with his white scarf wrapped around his face like a ninja.

Lucy stopped in her tracks, her eyes nearly bugging out of her skull as she watched the pinkette jump out from behind the barrel and sprint across the street to hide behind some wooden fruit crates.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Lucy growled, running over to where the idiot was currently crouched behind the crates.

"Shh!" Natsu shushed her, making a vein pop in her head. "I am ninja!" He stood, quickly doing a complicated leap-kick and knocking over a crate, which he hurriedly had to catch and place back on the stack.

Lucy let out a snort before having to hide her laughter. Natsu turned to look at her, his smiling eyes lit with mirth over his own clumsiness. Lucy coughed, hiding her laugh before turning back to the street to continue her way to the guild.

Natsu continued to act the idiot in her wake. Occasionally leaping behind crates and pretending to hide from imaginary attackers. The citizens they passed seemed well acquainted with Natsu's ridiculous behavior. Many street vendors greeted him happily, occasionally shouting warnings for him not to burn down or damage their booths, but their smiles and laughter were genuine. Natsu just laughed and carried on his game.

Lucy felt herself relaxing as they walked. She had to continue to remind herself to check her surroundings, but with Natsu's antics distracting her, it was hard to remain on alert to attackers. Lucy tried to keep a stern look on her face but felt it melt away as Natsu leapt from behind a short wall, springing in the air and landing on one foot as if kicking an enemy before he toppled to the ground in an ungraceful heap.

Natsu glanced up from where he had fallen on the ground when he heard tinkling laughter from the girl standing above him. He looked up, realizing that this was the first time he had really seen her laugh or even smile. Her smile was infectious and he found himself smiling happily.

Natsu scrambled to his feet as Lucy continued walking.

"So Lucy," Natsu began, appearing beside her and readjusting his scarf to settle around his neck. "Do you want to join a team with me?"

Lucy stopped dead in her tracks.

"Wh-what?" Lucy asked. Natsu came to stand beside her, looking down into her face. She stared back at the pinkette in complete shock. She had just met this guy and he already wanted to be partners? She knew that the guild operated mostly with teams or groups of wizards going on missions. Makarov had mentioned to her a few times that it may be beneficial for her to meet a few guild members and form a team with them. He argued there was strength in numbers. However, Lucy was still apprehensive about bringing innocent people into the crosshairs beneath which she lived her life. Erza had offered to team up with her as well. Lucy felt guilty about Erza risking her life more than she already was by forming a team. Lucy could not neglect the fact that she had a price on her head that threatened anyone around her.

"You heard me," Natsu said with a smirk. "I want you to be on my team."

"No," Lucy said. "You don't even know what you're asking." She quickly began to walk again, much faster than before.

Natsu easily matched her pace.

"I'm asking you to be partners," he said as he reached his hands up and folded them behind his head nonchalantly. "I know exactly what I'm asking."

"Natsu, we can't talk about this here," Lucy said, looking straight ahead and not meeting his eyes.

Lucy had been alone for as long as she could remember. She wasn't even allowed friends in her old life. Now, she lived day-to-day, knowing that she could be found and killed at any time. She did not stop to make friends. The only people she consistently communicated with were Makarov and Erza. She hadn't even seen Mirajane in more than six months as her trips to the guild were chosen as times when no one was there.

"Here's as good as anywhere," Natsu responded. "There's no one close enough to overhear." Sure enough, the throng of citizens had thinned out as they neared the guild. At this time of day, most of Magnolia's citizens were closer to the city center where the central market was located.

"Natsu," Lucy spoke quietly, her voice serious. "It's not safe for you to be with me." She willed him to understand.

"Let me decide that on my own," he said.

Lucy turned on the street that lead to the guild, eying the massive wooden structure. It had been so long since she had been here in the light of day. Lucy could hear the shouts coming from within the guild as they made their way toward it.

"It's not your decision to make," Lucy looked up at him sternly as she marched up the stairs leading to the guild. It felt so peculiar for her to be walking in through the front doors of the guild.

As Lucy approached the door, it was suddenly violently blown off its hinges and flying towards her at high speeds. In an instant, a burst of flames blew past Lucy, incinerating the door before it managed to hit Lucy.

"OY! ICE PRICK!" Natsu was suddenly standing beside Lucy, flames lit in retaliation. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he shouted.

Out of the smoke, a tall figure appeared. Lucy's eyes widened in shock as a tall, dark haired boy appeared where the door had stood only moments ago, shrouded in billowing smoke.

The guy glanced at Natsu and then traveled to Lucy, eyeing her carefully.

"Flame Fart brought home a girl!" The boy shouted over his shoulder to the occupants of the room.

"Oy!" Natsu shouted back. "You almost hit Lucy with the door, idiot."

"You're the idiot, Flame-for-Brains," the dark haired boy crossed his arms over his naked chest. _Wait,_ Lucy thought. _Didn't he have a shirt on just a second ago?_

"Say that one more time, Icicle Ass," The two boys were inching closer and closer together, their noses only a foot away.

Lucy watched in trepidation as the two boys continued to bicker. It seemed that most of their argument consisted of juvenile name calling. Realizing neither boy was paying a lick of attention to her, Lucy proceeded through the still-smoking entryway to the guild. The guild was surprisingly well lit for such a massive, wood building.

No one spared Lucy a second glance and it seemed that the occupants of the room had already begun to ignore the still arguing boys at the front doors. Lucy reached up and readjusted her hood, making sure it hadn't moved in the blast from the front door explosion.

Upon reaching the bar, Lucy quickly clambered onto an empty stool. Mira's eyes had already found the blonde and a smile had lit the pretty barmaid's face as she made her way through the milling customers to stand beside Lucy on the guest-side of the counter.

"Lucy!" Mira said. "Oh honey, what happened to your face?" Mira asked worriedly. She lightly touched the girl's cheek, making Lucy startle. "You need to take better care of yourself!" Mira chided, wrapping the smaller girl into a quick hug. Lucy tensed in the hug before quickly forcing herself to relax.

"Hi Mira," Lucy said as the hug ended and they pulled apart.

"It's so good to see you,' Mira said with a smile. "Are you here to see Master?"

"Actually," Lucy said quickly as she climbed onto a bar stool. "Porlyusica told me to come see someone named Wendy." Mira frowned at her.

"How bad is it?" Mira asked in concern, looking the smaller woman over.

"It's nothing serious," Lucy offered a sincere smile, hoping to calm the other woman's worry. Mira wasn't fooled. She continued to eye the blonde critically, looking for further signs of injury.

"She's over there," Mira gestured across the room. "The young girl with the long blue hair."

Lucy followed the direction of Mira's pointing, seeing a very young girl, perhaps no older than thirteen, seated at a table with a white cat. The young girl was chatting animatedly with the cat, her dark eyes alight with humor and her long midnight blue hair swaying out from her head in two flowing pigtails.

"Thanks Mira!" Lucy said quickly, standing. The movement caused a ripple of pain to jolt through her body from where the cracked rib had been jostled. Lucy ignored the pain, but not before Mira caught the tensing of her body and the tightening around Lucy's eyes.

"Excuse me," Lucy said as she approached the table where Wendy sat. The young girl turned to face Lucy, eyeing her curiously. The cat's bright eyes also followed Lucy's movements carefully.

"Are you Wendy?" Lucy asked kindly.

"Yes," the girl responded shyly. Surely this little girl wasn't the healer Porlyusica had meant. Could this little girl really posses healing magic? She was so small.

"Porlyusica said you might be able to help heal me," Lucy said, getting straight to the point. "How much would you charge to heal a cracked rib?" Lucy asked with a rueful smile.

"Oh I don't charge!" Wendy exclaimed. She stood quickly, her movements energetic but fluid. "Come on! Let's get you to the infirmary so I can take a look at you."

"Oy," Natsu's voice suddenly came from directly beside Lucy, making her jump. "Where are you guys going?"

"The infirmary," Wendy responded quickly.

"I knew you were injured!" Natsu exclaimed with a superior glance at Lucy. "It was when that bastard kicked you, wasn't it?"

"Come on," little Wendy said, ignoring Natsu altogether.

Lucy fell into step behind the small girl.

"Hey!" Natsu said, keeping pace with the two girls. "Wait for me."

"I'm Lucy, by the way," Lucy introduced herself to the young healer.

"Nice to meet you, Lucy," Wendy grinned up at her.

"She's my new teammate," Natsu exclaimed from behind the girls.

"I'm not your teammate!" Lucy exclaimed, looking around at the pinkette.

Wendy glanced back and forth between the two in confusion. She walked ahead of Lucy and Natsu as she led them across the main hall of the guild. They reached a hallway on the right that lead back to the infirmary.

"Why not?" Natsu continued asking Lucy why she wouldn't accept his invitation of being a teammate.

"I told you, I can't be a part of a team," Lucy explained exasperatedly. She didn't want to get into the details with a man she hardly knew and in front of a young girl she had just met.

"Here we are," Wendy announced, opening a door and holding it for Lucy to pass through. They entered a white room. Everything was white from the floors to the walls to the curtains around the small hospital beds.

"Sit here," Wendy indicated a bed in the corner of the room where medical supplies had already been laid out in preparation for an emergency. Lucy tucked her cloak around her as she sat.

"Where is the cracked rib?" Wendy asked. Lucy indicated the right side of her rib cage. Wendy began closing the curtains around Lucy's bed.

"Out," Wendy said to Natsu, who was sitting in a chair beside Lucy's bed.

"Oh, come on Wendy! Don't kick me out!" He whined.

"Sorry," Wendy said lightly. "You're lucky I even let you into the infirmary."

Natsu pouted as he stood from his seat and walked over to a nearby bed before collapsing dramatically onto it.

"She's my partner!" he continued to whine. Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Please remove your cloak," Wendy asked in her attempts at a professional tone. Lucy hesitantly began undoing the clasp at the base of her throat, pulling the hood carefully off of her head. The bandana still held much of Lucy's hair securely back, masking it so long as the hood was up. Lucy nervously fingered the hem of her shirt, feeling exposed without her cloak shrouding her.

"Okay, Lucy, I'm going to lift up your shirt to see the ribs. Can you lay back for me?"

Lucy slowly lowered herself to recline backward onto the examination bed. Delicately, Wendy grasped Lucy's peasant blouse and lifted it gently upwards to expose Lucy's ribs for examination. Wendy gave a small hiss when she saw the bruising that covered Lucy's torso.

"I'm just going to examine some of the ribs," Wendy explained. Lucy nodded, closing her eyes against the light from the ceiling lights that were blinding her. She flinched occasionally as Wendy poked and prodded her rib cage. The ribs were still incredibly tender.

"It'll only take me a few minutes to heal the worst of the break," Wendy explained as she finished poking her way around Lucy's ribs. "You may need to come back in tomorrow so I can finish healing the bruising. I haven't built up my endurance yet," she finished sadly.

"Thank you so much for taking the time to heal me at all," Lucy said. "Please don't feel you need to push yourself."

"It's good for her to push her limits," Natsu called from the other side of the curtain. "She's a dragon slayer. As she gets older, she will need to master more and more control over her powers. It's better she strain herself now than when she's in danger."

"He's right," Wendy nodded solemnly. "I'll consider this practice for a real fight," she grinned up at Lucy.

Lucy smiled at the young girl. She couldn't help but like her.

"Only if you're positive," Lucy said slowly, hesitant to let the girl push herself too far. Wasn't she kind of young to be doing this sort of thing?

"Okay, I'm going to place my hands over the injuries, but you shouldn't feel any pain."

Wendy did as she explained, her hands floating a few inches above Lucy's skin. A concentrated look came over Wendy's face and suddenly Lucy's injuries felt slightly warmed. There was no pain. In fact, Lucy could feel the lingering ache from the cracked rib leaving her. She took a slow, deep breath, reveling in the fact that she could breathe deeply without piercing pain.

The healing process took about fifteen minutes. Lucy would open her eyes occasionally to make sure Wendy wasn't pushing herself too hard. As beads of sweat began to form on the girl's brow, Lucy hesitantly reached her hand out to the young girl.

"I think that's enough for one day," Lucy said kindly.

"I can go for a little while longer," Wendy insisted. "Just a few more minutes and the break should be healed. It will still have some bruising, but the break itself will not cause you any pain."

Uncertainly, Lucy released her grip on the girl and let her go back to healing Lucy's ribs. Lucy lay still, allowing her eyes to close against the bright lights.

"All done," Wendy said, slightly out of breath. Lucy opened her eyes to see the small girl leaning heavily on her arms as she leaned over Lucy, sweat trickling down her brow. "Let me just heal your face." It only took a few moments before Lucy could feel the cuts sewing themselves back together.

"You should have a seat," Lucy said as soon as Wendy was done, quickly hopping to her feet, relishing in the fact that she could now do so without the pain from the cracked rib. She lowered her shirt and righted her clothes before wrapping an arm around the young girl and letting her sit upon the hospital bed.

"Can I come in yet?" Natsu whined.

"Yes," Lucy replied, not taking her eyes off the small girl before her. Little Wendy looked as if she was fighting the urge to pass out. Her face was rather pale and her skin was clammy.

Natsu pulled back the curtain with mighty force.

"Here, Wendy," Lucy said, laying a hand around the girl's shoulders. "Lay back. You should rest."

"I'll be alright in a few minutes," the brave little bluenette said with a sweet smile. She did as Lucy instructed, leaning back into the soft cushions on the hospital bed.

"How do you feel?" Natsu directed his question to Lucy.

"The broken rib feels like it's healed," Lucy said. She gently reached up to feel along her ribs. "Most of the bruising seems to have healed as well."

"Good job, Wendy," Natsu complimented the girl with a bright smile. "You're getting a lot better at controlling your powers."

"Thanks, Natsu-nii!" Wendy said. His words seemed to brighten the girl considerably.

Lucy perched on the side of the bed beside the bluenette.

"I need to speak with Makarov," Lucy said. She pulled out a pouch full of Jewels. "Please allow me to pay you for your efforts," she smiled down at the bluenette.

"I told you already," Natsu began. "Fairy Tail is nakama. That means we don't charge for healings," he grinned.

"That's right!" Wendy chirped. "I don't charge for healings," she echoed him.

"Well, please accept them this time," Lucy said. "I don't like owing people," she frowned.

"You don't owe me a thing," Wendy assured her, sitting up carefully.

"Yeah, think of it as job training," Natsu said. "This is like an internship job for her. In exchange for healing, she gets experience."

"But—"

"No," Natsu said firmly. "Didn't you say you needed to speak to Makarov?"

"Well, yes, but—"

"Come along," Natsu grabbed Lucy's wrist, dragging her behind him as he hastily left the room. "Bye Wendy!"

"Ugh!" Lucy whined as she stumbled in Natsu's wake. "Let me go!"

"Oops!" Natsu laughed, releasing Lucy's wrist. Lucy glared at him and began to march angrily to Makarov's office.

"Why are you following me?" Lucy huffed as she noticed the pinkette had begun to trail her.

"I'm going to Makarov's office with you," Natsu responded as if the answer were clear as day.

"I don't need a chaperone," Lucy glared at the pinkette.

"I know that!" Natsu said, giving her a weird look. "But I want to introduce you around the guild after you meet with Makarov."

"I'm not here to meet people," Lucy responded tightly. Just how dense was this kid?

"But you're a member of Fairy Tail!" Natsu said, aghast. "Everyone would love to meet you!"

"It's not a matter of whether they would like me or not," Lucy rolled her eyes. "I have work to do and I don't have time for meeting the guild."

"Why do you keep trying to hide?" Natsu asked in a serious tone.

"It would be better if you just forgot you'd ever seen me," Lucy said, not turning to face the pinkette to see what his reaction was.

Behind her, Natsu frowned. He really didn't like that this girl was so determined to hide from Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail was _family_. They looked out for one another and protected one another. Natsu knew that there was nowhere safer in the world than Fairy Tail, surrounded by his strong guild mates. He wished he could make this mysterious girl see that. She would always be safer with them than alone.

Lost amongst his musings, Natsu barely noticed they had arrived at Makarov's office. Lucy raised her hand, knocking on the large oak door, lifting Natsu from his thoughts.

"Come in," Makarov's commanding voice came from the other side of the door. Lucy pushed open the door and walked in, Natsu slipping in before she had a chance to close the door behind her. She gave him an exasperated look.

"Hey, Gramps!" Natsu greeted, ignoring the irritated look Lucy was giving him.

Makarov ignored the pinkette.

"Lucy!" Makarov said, giving her a warm smile. "Welcome back. I see you've met this idiot," he continued, gesturing to the pinkette standing beside Lucy.

"Erm, yes," Lucy said, raising a brow and staring at Natsu. She returned her attention to Makarov.

"I'm not an idiot!" Natsu growled from where he was leaning against the wall, his eyes bright with the challenge.

"Oh shut up, you flaming toddler," Makarov waved a hand at him dismissively.

"Sir," Lucy broke up the squabble, interrupting before Natsu had a chance to respond. "I'd like to speak with you about the next mission." She paused, glancing at the pinkette beside her. "Alone."

"Aw, come on Luce!" Natsu whined. "We're partners now!"

"I never agreed to be partners," Lucy clarified, raising her hand and pointing her finger at him. "You decided we're partners. Not me."

"But Luce—"

"No," Lucy interrupted, already growing vexed with his whining.

"If I might interrupt," Makarov said with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes as he watched the two bickering kids. "You were both involved with apprehending Bora, correct?"

Both nodded in response.

"Was the mission a success?"

"Yeah, Gramps," Natsu answered. "We brought Bora in."

Makarov stared inquiringly at Lucy. "Did you retrieve the items?"

"Yes, sir," Lucy said.

"Good job, the both of you," Makarov praised. "Porlyusica sent a note letting me know you'd been injured. Was Wendy able to heal you fully?"

"Yes, sir," Lucy responded.

"Lucy needs to come back and see Wendy again tomorrow to finish the healing," Natsu interjected, ignoring the exasperated look Lucy was shooting him.

Makarov raised a furry brow.

"Make sure you are fully healed before you leave for this next mission," Makarov warned seriously. "This one will be harder than some petty smugglers in Hargeon."

"Yes, sir," Lucy spoke quietly.

"And stop calling me 'sir,'" Makarov grunted. A small smile teased Lucy's lips.

"Yes, sir," she said with a small, tinkling laugh.

Makarov grunted in response, rolling his eyes at her cheeky response.

"I need to speak with Erza to see if you are ready for the next mission," Makarov continued. "Come to my office tomorrow after you've finished healing with Wendy."

"Yes, sir," Lucy said, laughing when the old man shot her a glare for using honorifics.

"Alright, now get out of my office you brats."

Lucy laughed as she stood and made her way out of the office, Natsu holding the door for her and following her out.

"Now can we get food?" Natsu whined.

"I never stopped you from getting food!" Lucy exclaimed.

"I'm starving!"

"Then go eat!" Lucy exclaimed, waving her hand ahead of her, signaling the pinkette to continue on to the guild hall. She stopped, shifting her cloak and hood to cover her once again before turning down a side hallway.

A hand on her shoulder halted her.

"Where are you going?" Natsu asked, looking at her quizzically.

Lucy frowned, pulling away from his grip.

"I'm going home," Lucy said, confused.

"What about food?" he whined.

"Then go eat food!" Lucy huffed. "I'm not stopping you!"

"Come eat with us!"

"I said 'no,'" Lucy glared at the whiny boy in front of her.

"Come on, Luce," Natsu probed. "You must be hungry."

"I can cook at home," she responded, continuing to fix her hood and brushing back wisps of blonde hair that were fighting to escape their restraints.

"You can cook?" Natsu questioned dubiously, making a vein pop in Lucy's forehead.

"Yes, I can cook," she glared at him.

"Good," Natsu said cheerfully. "Cook for me then!"

"I'm not cooking for you," Lucy deadpanned.

"Aw, come on Luce!"

"Quit calling me Luce," Lucy glared up at him.

"Hurry up! Let's go! Can you make fire chicken?"

"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed. "I'm not cooking for you!"

"Come on, Luce," he said. "I'm sure your cooking isn't that bad!" he reassured her.

Lucy stood still in the hallway, taking deep, calming breaths, willing the vein in her forehead to return to its place.

"Fine," she said. "If I eat with you in the guild hall, will you leave me alone?"

"Why would I leave you alone?" Natsu asked, flummoxed. "We're partners."

"For the last time, we are not partners!" Lucy growled.

"Come on, Luce! We worked well together against Bora!"

"I'm not your partner," Lucy said.

Natsu chuckled in response. "You're going to love Mira's cooking!"

Natsu grabbed Lucy's arm and proceeded to pull her down the hall to the guild hall. Lucy wrenched her hand away, nervously readjusting her hood as they approached the entry to the hall. Lucy's eye's traveled the length of the hall, looking inquiringly at the guild members scattered around the guild.

"Yo, Mira!" Natsu greeted as he climbed onto a stool at the bar.

"Hi Natsu!" Mira said in her perky voice, a bright smile on her face, as she approached the duo who had taken seats at the bar. "Did Wendy heal you, Lucy? Your face looks much better."

"Yes," Lucy smiled. "Has she come back down? She was resting in the infirmary."

"Charle, went to check on her a while ago."

Lucy nodded.

"Are you staying to eat?" Mira asked, glancing between the two.

"Yep!" Natsu cheered. "Get me the biggest order of fire chicken you can make," he shouted, his eyes alight, making Mira giggle.

"What would you like Lucy?"

"Um—" Lucy stared blankly back at Mira, unsure.

"Make her a Mira Special!" Natsu suggested.

"How about it Lucy?" Mira asked, eyes sparkling.

"Um, sure, I guess," Lucy responded with a shrug.

"Don't worry, it's just a sandwich," Mira winked, making Lucy smile.

"Hey Flame Fart!" a voice shouted from behind them, making them turn.

"What do you want Ice Balls?" Natsu shouted back, instantly on the defensive.

"You blew up the front door!" the strange, half naked boy shouted. "Now you have to fix it!"

"You're the one who blew it up, Icicle Ass," Natsu snarled back. "I burned it so it wouldn't hit us!"

"Ignore them," Mira said aside to Lucy. "Those two fight constantly."

Lucy turned back to look at Mira, seeing the truth in her eyes. Did these two really fight that much?

"I'll go start your food," Mira said, turning to head into the kitchen.

Lucy turned back to where Natsu had made his way over to the dark haired boy. They were standing nose to nose. Smoke had begun to billow from Natsu's hands as he refrained from lighting his fists on fire. The boy in front of him seemed to be chilling the air around him, causing their breaths to come out in dragon-like puffs.

"You break everything you touch!" the dark haired boy was yelling at Natsu. "Only an idiot would repeatedly destroy the guild."

"Did you forget that you've destroyed the guild as many times as I have?" Natsu snarled back.

Lucy watched curiously as the two continued arguing. _Wait,_ Lucy thought. _When did he take off his pants?_ The dark haired boy was now clothed in only his boxers and a chain dangling from his neck. She frowned in confusion.

"Gray," a voice from a seat further along the bar shouted. "Your clothes."

Lucy watched in fascination as the dark haired boy looked down at himself in shock and began scrambling around looking for his clothes while Natsu cackled delightedly.

"Do you want to take yours to go?" Mira asked, appearing suddenly at the bar.

"Please," Lucy said in relief.

"I'm surprised Natsu was able to keep you here as long as he did," Mira smiled. "Promise me you'll come back again soon. And make sure to come down and say 'hi' once in a while," she smiled sadly at the girl across from her.

Lucy turned her face downward. "I will if I can," she promised. She nodded thoughtfully. "Maybe I will," Lucy suddenly looked up. "It's easier to come here to be healed by Wendy than walking through the woods to Porlyusica's." She smiled.

"You're always welcome!" Mira said brightly. She had taken a liking to the younger girl across from her and was saddened that Lucy had continued to keep away from the guild and its members.

Mira handed Lucy a small box where Mira had wrapped up her food.

"If you go through the back, Natsu probably won't notice," Mira winked. "He's busy fighting with Gray again."

Lucy glanced back and sure enough the two boys were nose-to-nose in another yelling match.

"Thanks Mira," she tossed a handful of Jewels onto the countertop before gracefully slipping off her stool and walking quickly along the bar to the back door. She waved brightly to Mira as she pushed open the door. Feeling the fresh, cool outdoor air soothed Lucy's nerves.

Lucy quickly made her way back to her apartment, weaving her way through the city, her attention on her surroundings.

Lucy stopped across the street from her small apartment on Strawberry Street. She glanced along the canal, along the streets, and into neighboring windows but saw no one sparing her any mind. Deeming it safe, Lucy crossed the street, quickly unlocking her door and strolling into her apartment.

The apartment was clean and silent. Lucy quickly checked the apartment to make sure no one had snuck in while she was gone. Finding it clear of danger, she slowly began to remove her cloak and bandana. She pulled out her keys, calling Plue to keep her company. The shaky little dog smiled happily at her as he wandered around the apartment. Lucy smiled as she watched him.

She ran her hands through her now-free hair, untangling a few strands and ruffling it, enjoying the feeling of it falling freely. Lucy went into the bathroom to where her large mirror stood. She removed her shirt, relieved again that the movement didn't cause sharp pains, signaling that her ribs were almost entirely healed. She stood in front of the mirror, examining the bruises that still decorated her torso. She could live with a few bruises. She lightly fingered them, finding them not to be as painful as she would have expected. Wendy really did an amazing job on her. She would have to find a way to repay the young girl.

Lucy changed her clothes and wandered back into her kitchen where she opened the box of food Mira had prepared for her. The delicious smell wafting from the box was making her mouth water. She savored every bite of the Mira Special, one of the best sandwiches she'd ever had.

As Lucy finished off the last of her sandwich, she suddenly came to realize that there was a small rustling noise coming from the bedroom. Quickly swallowing, Lucy pulled a small dirk from the leather holster around her waist. She reached down briefly, reassuring herself that her keys were still safely attached and silently sending a telepathic message to Loke, alerting him of the danger. She could sense him preparing to open his gate at her signal.

Lucy crept across her apartment, keeping on the balls of her feet and prepared to spring into action. Reaching the bedroom, she steadied her breathing as she waited on the other side of the wooden portal. With deadly focus, Lucy shoved open the door, startling the intruder.

A flash of blue streaked across the room, startling Lucy as she took in the peculiar scene. Standing before her, Natsu was caught red-handed breaking into Lucy's apartment. One hand held up the window he had clearly just climbed through. Standing—no—flying next to Natsu was a peculiar blue cat with white wings bursting from its back and sporting a green backpack on its small back. Most peculiar of all was the fact that the blue cat was currently holding one of Lucy's bright red bras.

A vein began to throb in Lucy's forehead.

"Hey Luce!" Natsu greeted cheerfully, finishing climbing in through the window and lowering the window pane with a thud. The resounding noise caused Lucy to flinch in irritation, her eyes blazing.

"What the hell are you doing breaking into my apartment?" Lucy said in a deathly calm voice.

"You left the window unlocked!" the blue cat said cheerfully, twirling the bright red bra around in his small paws. "You must be really dumb or something."

Lucy took a deep breath through her nose. She was holding a knife. If she killed them, she could make it seem like they were breaking into her apartment (which they were) to kill her (which they weren't). She had to stop these dangerous thoughts before she acted on them.

"Luce, meet Happy," Natsu said, oblivious to the danger he was currently in. He gestured to the flying blue cat. "Happy, meet Lucy."

"I'm going to repeat this one more time," Lucy said, her tone icy. "What are you doing breaking into my apartment?"

"You left the guild without saying 'bye!'" Natsu pouted, plopping onto Lucy's bed and reclining back with his hands behind his head. "I wanted to make sure you got home alright. You're not fully healed yet, after all. And besides, you rushed out so quickly you didn't get to meet Happy!"

"How did you find me?" Lucy asked suspiciously.

"Well, I smelled you," Natsu said as if it were the most obvious answer. "And Happy flew us here, isn't that right little buddy?" He turned to smile brightly at the blue cat.

"Aye, sir!" The little cat cheered, flinging Lucy's red bra in his excitement.

Lucy watched in aggravation as the bra flew through the air and landed on the bed beside Natsu. Without any hesitation, Natsu grabbed the bra and shot it back at the blue cat who quickly dodged the projectile by rolling in mid air and catching the bra. Shooting to the other side of the room, Happy shot the bra back at Natsu who narrowly caught it before it could hit him in the face.

"Hey!" Natsu said, a small puff of flames coming from his mouth. He stretched the bra dangerously far and shot it with what seemed supernatural speed at the blue cat.

"Knock it off!" Lucy shouted at the two, standing with her fists clenched at her side, dirk still in her hand.

Natsu and Happy froze, looking over at the enraged blonde.

"Natsu, Lushi is scary!" Happy said in a whiny voice, flying over to float beside Natsu's head.

"What's her problem?" Natsu stage-whispered back to the blue cat.

"Get out of my apartment," Lucy practically snarled at the two.

"Aw, come on Luce," Natsu said, grabbing the bra out of the cat's paws. He walked across the room and handed the bra back to Lucy. "We were just having some fun."

"Where did you even get this?" Lucy questioned the blue cat.

The cat was currently perched on Lucy's pink bedspread, munching on a dead fish he'd pulled from Mavis-knows-where. He raised a small blue paw, pointing to the dresser where the drawer containing Lucy's intimate items was still partially open, lace panties dangling out of the drawer partially. Lucy narrowed her eyes.

"You saw that I made it home, now leave," Lucy demanded, snatching the bra out of Natsu's hand and hurriedly stuffing it back into the drawer, slamming the drawer closed.

"You'll come by the guild tomorrow to finish healing, right?" Natsu asked.

"Yes," Lucy sighed in exasperation.

"Okay!" Natsu said brightly. "Come on Happy! Let's go fishing!"

"Aye, sir!" Happy cheered, flying in a happy loop-the-loop. Natsu went to the window and quickly lifted it open.

"Use the door!" Lucy yelled.

"Lushi's loud!" Happy whined, quickly skirting Lucy's hand that reached out to strangle the little blue cat. He quickly flew through the window, floating just out of reach.

"See ya around, Luce!" Natsu said happily before quickly climbing through the window where the blue cat quickly caught him and they flew away.

Lucy stared in awe and confusion as the two flew away, unable to wrap her head around the entire situation. She then shook her head, locking the window and closing the curtains.

 **Thanks for reading!**


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